THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


I , 


/ 


I 


wsm 


[SECOND  EDITION,  REVISED.] 


BIOGRAPHY 


OF 


HENRY    CLAY. 


BY  GEORGE  D.  PRENTICE. 


Neto= Ycrrfe : 

PUBLISHED  BY  JOHN  JAY  PHELPS. 
1831. 


Dittrict  of  Connecticut,  as. 

BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  fourth  day  of  December,  in  the 
flfty-flfth  year  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Samuel 
Hanmer,  Jr.  and  John  Jay  Phelps,  of  the  said  district,  have  deposited  in  thia 
office  the  title  of  a  book,  the  right  whereof  they  claim  as  proprietors,  in  the 
words  following,  to  wit : 

"  Biography  of  Henry  Clay.  By  George  D.  Prentice,  Esq.1' 
In  conformity  to  the  act  of  congress  of  the  United  f-tates,  entitled,  "  an  act  for 
the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts,  and 
books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the  times  therein 
mentioned,"  and  also  to  the  act,  entitled,  "  an  act  supplementary  to  an  act,  enti- 
tled, '  an  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps., 
charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the  time* 
therein  mentioned,  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  designing 
engraving,  and  etching,  historical  and  other  prints." 

CHARLES  A.  INGERSOLL, 
Clerk  of  the  District  of  Connecticut. 
A  true  copy  of  record,  examined  and  sealed  by  me. 

CHARLES  A.  INCJERSOLL, 
Clerk  of  the  District  of  Connective, 


PREFACE 


I  SHOULD  be  blind  indeed  to  the  present  state  of  publick  feeling,  not  to 
be  aware,  that,  in  presenting  this  volume  to  the  publick,  I  am  exposing 
my  name,  humble  as  it  is,  to  much  obloquy.  This,  however,  is  a  matter 
of  little  consequence.  I  have  guarded  myself  against  the  more  disa- 
greeable  effects  of  abuse,  by  endeavouring  not  to  deserve  it.  My  mo- 
lives  are  good ;  and  hence  I  am  willing  that  the  breath  of  political  ma- 
lice should,  like  the  wind,  "blow  where  it  listeth,"  and  I  shall  not  stop 
to  inquire  "whence  it  cometh  or  whither  it  goeth." 

The  publick  are  perhaps  apprized,  that  most  of  the  following  pages 
\have  been  prepared  at  Lexington,  near  the  residence  of  Mr.  Clay. 
From  this  circumstance,  I  deem  it  proper  to  say,  that  Mr.  C.  is,  in  no 
degree,  responsible  for  the  manner  or  matter  of  a  single  paragraph  in 
the  volume.     I  have  often  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  him  in  society, 
s  v    '  but  I  am  confident  that  he  has  communicated  to  me  far  less  informa- 
^        tion,  with  regard  to  himself,  than  he  would  naturally  have  done,  had 
he  not  known  that  I  was  preparing  a  sketch  of  his  life.     Some  months 
ago,  my  Publishers  applied  to  him,  by  letter,  to  know  whether  he  was 
willing  that  his  Biography  should  be  given  to  the  world.     In  his  answer, 
he  etateJ,  that,  as  his  acts  were  before  his  fellow-citizens,  he  could  pro- 
perly exercise  no  censorship  or  control  over  the  comments,  either  of 
friends  or  enemies  ;  but,  that  he  must  frankly  acknowledge  the  repug- 
nance of  his  own  private  feelings  to  the  contemplated  publication. 
Had  I  read  this  answer  in  season,  I  should  have  remained  in  New- 


iy  PREFACE. 

For  many  of  the  imperfections  of  this  volume,  the  intelligent  reader 
will  require  no  apology.  During  the  greater  part  of  my  stay  in  Ken- 
tucky, I  have  been  unable,  from  indisposition,  to  endure  the  labour  of 
writing ;  and  hence,  when  my  health  has  permitted,  I  have  necessarily 
written  with  a  degree  of  haste  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  care  and 
attention  wliich,  under  other  circumstances,  I  should  certainly  have  be- 
stowed upon  my  work.  The  necessity  of  sending  the  manuscript  to 
New-England,  sheet  by  sheet,  without  even  allowing  myself  time  to 
preserve  copies  of  it,  has  undoubtedly  led  to  some  errors  of  plan  and  ar- 
rangement. The  same  necessity,  together  with  that  of  limiting  the  vo- 
lume to  a  given  number  of  pages,  has  compelled  me  to  omit  several  im- 
portant incidents  in  the  more  recent  portion  of  Mr.  Clay's  history. 

I  am  not  unaware,  that  the  written  history  of  a  man,  whose  life  ex- 
hibits no  adventures,  save  those  of  an  intellectual  character,  is  seldom 
read  with  that  enthusiasm,  which  is  generally  called  forth  by  the  story 
even  of  a  second  rate  chieftain.  The  reading  community  are  more  fond 
of  tracing  the  progress  of  action  than  of  thought,  although  the  latter  is 
the  source  of  the  former.  They  can  gaze  with  rapture  upon  the  beauty 
or  magnificence  of  the  stream,  without  caring  to  understand  the  myste- 
ries of  the  power  by  which  the  fountain-wave  is  cast  up  from  its  secret 
home,  i  The  achievements  of  the  great  intelligences  of  the  age  are  too 
Kttle  regarded.  If  mankind  would  be  careful  to  trace  the  mental  histo- 
ries of  the  mighty  ones  of  the  earth ;  if  they  would  but  mark  the  gra- 
dual unfolding  of  the  principles,  the  powers,  and  the  passions,  of  those 
great  master  spirits,  that  give  form  and  pressure  to  the  njies  in  wliich 
they  live ;  each  generation  would  bo  furnished  with  an  amount  of 
moral  power,  by  which  it  might  elevate  itself  into  a  nobler  sphere  of  being, 
And  leave  behind  it  a  long  train  of  glory  for  the  illumination  of  posterity. 
.7  Henry  Clay  is  such  a  maf^-one,  whose  moral  and  mental  history 
i  should  be  regarded  as  a  portion  of  the  common  riches  of  the  human 
\l  rmce-^one  of  those  noble-minded  existences,  from  whom  the  world's 
happiness  and  glory  are  yet  to  spring ;  and  there  is  more  profit  in 
•canning  the  mind  of  such  a  being— in  marking  The  origin,  the  combi- 
nation, and  the  development  of  its  powerful  elements— than  in  contem- 


plating  the  successes  of  all  the  military  conquerors,  from  Alexander  to 
Napoleon.  , 

I  have  already  been  freely  charged  with  undertaking  the  Biography 
of  Henry  Clay,  with  a  view  to  influence  an  approaching  political  elec- 
tion. That  I  have  formed  my  opinions  on  the  subject  of  that  election 
is  certainly  true.  That  I  wish,  by  every  honourable  means,  to  diffuse 
those  opinions,  is  equally  true ;  and  if  this  sketch  of  what  Mr.  Clay 
has  done — this  imperfect  detail  of  his  struggles  and  his  triumphs  in  his 
country's  cause — shall  have  a  tendency  to  quell  the  spirit  of  detraction, 
that,  for  years,  has  been  pursuing  him  with  a  malice  not  of  this  world, 
the  result  of  my  labours  will,  thus  far,  be  gratifying  to  my  feelings. 
This  is  no  place  for  the  discussion  of  political  topicks ;  yet,  I  cannot 
forbear  saying,  that,  if  the  personal  enemies  of  Henry  Clay  succeed,  to 
the  extent  of  their  present  efforts,  his  achievements  and  his  reward  will 
bear  a  parallel  to  those  of  the  Titan,  who,  for  his  divine  gift  to  the  hu- 
man race,  was  doomed  to  undying  agonies. 

In  the  following  work,  I  have,  when  speaking  of  Mr.  Clay's  intellect- 
ual efforts  upon  the  floor  of  Congress,  endeavoured  to  give,  in  most  cases, 
a  general  idea  of  the  arguments  by  which  he  sustained  his  opinions.  I 
am  sensible  that  I  have,  in  no  case,  done  these  arguments  justice ;  but, 
perhaps  the  faint  and  disfigured  copies  which  I  have  given,  may  have 
the  effect  to  turn  the  attention  of  some  of  my  readers  to  the  glorious 

fls.  Whenever  attempting  an  outline  of  Mr.  C.'s  arguments,  I 
sed  his  phraseology  or  my  own,  according  as  I  found  either  the 
the  other  best  adapted  to  my  purpose. 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Lexington,  Kentucky,  November  14th,  1830. 


BIOGRAPHY 

OF 

HENRY     CLAY. 

SECTION  FIRST. 

THE  life  of  Mr.  Clay  is  so  thoroughly  interwoven  with 
the  civil  and  political  history  of  the  country,  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  do  full  justice  to  it,  without  embracing  a 
range  of  topics  and  an  exactness  of  detail,  that  would  ex- 
tend the  present  volume  far  beyond  the  limits  which  we 
must  necessarily  allot  to  it.  During  the  last  twenty  years, 
scarce  a  single  great  and  salutary  measure  has  been  adopt- 
ed, upon  which  the  signet  of  his  wisdom  is  not  set,  and 
therefore  we  may  well  leave  to  the  Nation's  future  histo- 
rian the  task  of  furnishing  a  minute  record  of  his  intel- 
lectual achievements.  Our  task  will  be  of  a  less  ambitious 
character. 

Henrj-  Clay  was  born  in  Hanover  county,  Virginia, 
on  the  12th  of  April,  1777.  His  father,  a  clergyman  of 
considerable  talent  and  high  respectability,  died  while 
Henry  was  yet  a  child.  By  the  kindness  of  a  gentleman 
in  Virginia,  we  have  been  furnished  with  a  variety  of  in- 
teresting anecdotes  in  relation  to  the  ancestors  of  the  subject 
of  these  memoirs,  but  we  scarce  deem  it  expedient  to  give 
them  to  the  publick.  We  are  writing  the  life  of  a  man, 
whose  fame,  whatever  it  may  be,  is  his  own  creation,  and 
not  an  inheritance  from  his  progenitors.  His  claims  to 


8  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

distinction  are  rested  on  something  better  than  a  penny's 
worth  of  ribbon  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation — 
the  light  which  hovers  around  his  name,  is  something  more 
glorious  than  the  phosphorick  ray,  that  gleams  from  amid 
the  bones  of  a  buried  ancestry. 

At  an  early  age,  Henry  Clay,  having  obtained  a  com- 
mon-school education,  was  placed  in  the  office  of  Mr. 
Tinsley,  Clerk  of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery,  at  Rich- 
mond, Virginia.  In  this  situation,  he  met  occasionally 
with  the  distinguished  men  of  the  State,  and,  at  length, 
by  his  amiable  deportment,  and  his  striking  displays  of 
intellect,  attracted  the  attention  and  gained  the  friendship 
of  Chancellor  Wythe  and  Governor  Brooke,  who,  by 
their  joint  advice,  persuaded  him,  at  the  age  of  nineteen, 
to  undertake  the  study  of  the  law.  For  this  study  he 
seemed  peculiarly  fitted,  both  by  genius  and  inclination, 
and  so  assiduous  was  he  in  his  application  to  it,  that,  at 
the  age  of  twenty,  he  was  admitted  to  practice.  Soon  af- 
terward he  went  to  Lexington,  Kentucky,  but,  instead  of 
entering  immediately  upon  his  professional  career,  still  con- 
fined himself  to  his  legal  studies,  with  the  determination  of 
making  himself  thoroughly  master  of  the  great  principles 
of  law,  before  he  assumed  the  responsibility  of  practice. 
Up  to  this  period,  he  had  never  made  an  effort  at  publick 
speaking,  and  was  wholly  unconscious  of  his  own  oratori- 
cal powers,  although  it  is. said,  that  his  style  of  con- 
versation was  universally  admired  by  his  associates,  for  its 
extreme  correctness  and  elegance.  The  first  display  of  his 
powers  of  extemporaneous  eloquence  was  made  under  pecu- 
liar circumstances.  Soon  after  his  removal  to  Lexington, 
he  joined  a  Debating  Society  in  that  place,  but  continued, 
for  some  weeks,  to  attend  its  meetings,  without  offering  to 
take  part  in  its  discussions.  On  one  occasion,  however, 
when  the  vote  on  an  interesting  question,  which  had  been 


HENRY   CLAY. 


« 


the  subject  of  debate,  was  about  to  be  taken,  Mr.  Clay 
remarked,  in  a  low  but  audible  whisper,  that  the  subject 
did  not  appear  to  him  to  have  been  exhausted.  This  re- 
mark was  overheard  by  several  of  the  members,  who,  from 
their  high  opinion  of  his  powers,  had  long  wished  to 
persuade  him  to  participate  in  the  debates  of  the  Society, 
and  they  addressed  the  Chairman  simultaneously — "  Do 
not  put  the  question  yet — Mr.  Clay  will  speak.1'  The 
attention  of  the  Society  was  now,  of  course,  directed  to 
Mr.  Clay,  who,  not  having  sufficient  confidence  to  resist 
the  appeal,  arose  under  extraordinary  embarrassment,  and 
commenced  his  speech,  by  saying — "Gentlemen  of  the 
Jury."  The  members  of  the  Society,  all  of  whom  were 
his  personal  friends,  were  unwilling  to  increase  his  agita- 
tion by  seeming  to  take  notice  of  his  mistake,  and  he 
repeated  it  several  times  in  a  stammering  tone,  till,  at 
length,  he  gradually  gained  confidence  from  his  own  ef- 
forts, and  finally,  concentrating  all  his  vigorous  and  dis- 
ciplined powers  upon  the  subject  in  debate,  he  surprised 
his  audience  with  a  beauty  and  compass  of  voice,  an  exu- 
berance of  eloquence,  and  a  force  of  argument,  well  wor- 
thy of  a  veteran  Orator.  A  gentleman  who  heard  this 
speech,  has  assured  us,  that  it  would  hardly  suffer  in  com- 
parison with  those  brilliant  efforts  of  its  author,  which 
have  since  thrilled  like  a  voice  of  salvation  through  the 
country.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that  his  reputa  • 
tion  as  a  speaker  was  at  once  established,  and  that  he 
immediately  became  a  leading  champion  in  all  the  de- 
bates of  the  Society.  The  circumstances  attending  the 
first  speech  of  Mr.  Clay,  and  that  of  Mr.  Burke,  were 
strikingly  similar.  We  have  somewhere  read,  that  the 
latter  orator,  like  the  former,  gained  in  a  Debating  So- 
ciety the  first  knowledge  of  his  own  vast  powers,  and 
was  there  first  visited  by  visions  of  coming  glory. 


10  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

A  few  months  after  the  incident  above  mentioned, 
Mr.  Clay  was  admitted  as  a  Practitioner  before  the 
Fayette  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions,  a  court  of  general 
jurisdiction.  His  experience,  while  with  the  clerk  of 
the  Richmond  Court  of  Chancery,  had  acquainted  him 
with  the  routine  of  business,  and,  during  the  first  term,  he 
obtained  an  extensive  practice.  The  Lexington  Bar,  at 
this  time,  was  the  ablest  that  had  ever  been  in  Kentucky, 
consisting  of  George  Nicholas,  John  Breckenridge,  James 
Brown,  James  Hughes,  William  Murray,  and  several 
other  gentlemen,  either  of  whom  would  have  been  the 
leading  attorney  in  almost  any  other  place.  Notwith- 
standing the  number,  experience,  and  strength  of  these  com- 
petitors, Mr.  Clay  soon  came  to  be  entrusted  with  more 
suits  than  any  rival  practitioner,  and  was  more  success- 
ful in  the  management  of  them.  It  is  said  of  him,  that, 
although  he  was  frequently  called  on  to  address  the  Court 
with  but  little  time  for  preparation,  he  always  understood 
his  causes  well,  his  strength  of  mind  and  perspicuity  of 
judgement  being  such  as  to  enable  him  to  comprehend 
them  at  a  glance.  We  have  heard  much  in  relation  to 
his  early  professional  efforts.  They  are  well  remembered 
by  his  fellow  citizens,  from  whom  we  learn,  that  he  was 
universally  regarded  as  a  powerful  spirit,  destined,  in  the 
meridian  of  life,  to  take  his  place  among  the  leading  intel- 
ligences of  tikjrage.  He  certainly  possessed,  in  a  remarka- 
ble degree,  those  qualities  and  powers  of  mind,  which  fitted 
him  for  success  in  his  legal  practice.  He  always  seemed 
to  discover,  as  if  by  intuition,  the  peculiar  character  of 
every  man  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  He  would 
read  it  in  the  eye,  and  in  the  flitting  expression  of 
countenance,  afld  this  power,  especially  when  he  was 
called  on  to  address  a  Jury,  enabled  him  almost  invariably 
to  triumph.  By  watching  with  the  instinctive  keenness 


HENRY   CLAY.  11 

of  his  vision  the  vibration  of  the  master-chord  in  each 
man's  bosom,  he  knew  when  to  confine  himself  to  severe 
argument,  when  to  indulge  in  the  playfulness  of  humour, 
when  to  wither  his  victim  with  the  scorching  blast  of 
his  indignation,  and  when  to  pour  his  whole  soul  abroad 
in  a  rushing  tide  of  eloquence ;  and  if,  at  any  time,  he 
chanced  to  excite  an  unfavourable  prejudice  on  the  part  of 
his  hearers,  he  would  perceive  it  on  the  instant,  and  dex- 
terously change  his  subject,  or  his  mode  of  treating  it,  until 
he  read  in  their  countenances  the  proofs  of  his  success. 
The  consequence  was,  he  scarcely  ever  failed  of  gaining 
the  verdict  of  a  Jury.  This  intuitive  knowledge  of 
character  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  means  by  which  he 
has  so  generally  through  life  secured  the  attachment  of  his 
associates.  Probably  he  has  more  personal  friends — more 
friends,  who,  in  the  fullness  of  their  enthusiastick  love, 
would  almost  shed  their  blood  for  him,  than  any  other 
man  in  the  United  States.  This  fact  is,  in  part,  owing 
to  the  manliness  and  ingenuousness  of  his  character,  but 
it  must  also  be  partially  ascribed  to  that  unerring  cer- 
tainty with  which  he  reads  the  thoughts,  habits,  and  feel- 
ings of  those  who  approach  him,  and  the  skill  and  delica- 
cy with  which  he  adapts  himself  to  their  peculiarities. 

Mr.  Clay,  though  well  acquainted  with  the  law  during 
the  early  years  of  his  practice,  was  not,  in  this  respect, 
distinguished  beyond  some  of  his  competitors.  In  legal 
science  he  had  several  formidable  rivals,  but,  in  eloquence 
and  persuasion,  none.  Though  capable  of  analyzing  the 
most  difficult  questions,  and  applying  the  abstract  princi- 
ples of  law  with  extreme  ingenuity  and  force,  his  genius 
was  still  better  adapted  to  discussions,  in  which  the  na- 
tural powers  of  intellect  were  principally  called  into  ex- 
ercise. Whenever  the  subject  of  debate  admitted  of  being 
brought  within  the  range  of  reason,  and  his  mind  was  ai- 


12  BIOGKAPHY    OF 

lowed  to  break  away  from  the  technicalities  and  arbitra- 
ry forms  of  law,  he  never  failed  to  excite  admiration  and 
surprise  by  the  closeness  and  cogency  of  his  reasonings» 
the  boldness  and  originality  of  his  conceptions,  and  the 
sublime  strength  of  his  language — sometimes  pursuing, 
by  the  hour,  an  unbroken  chain  of  metaphysical  disquisi- 
tion, and  then  giving  utterance  to  a  gush  of  magnificent 
thoughts,  like  the  bursting  forth  of  an  imprisoned  foun- 
tain. It  is,  by  no  means,  rare,  that  the  greatest  minds  are 
not  those  which  are  most  conversant  with  the  trifling  de- 
tails of  legal  decisions.  Genius  delights  in  open  space. 
It  is  the  Eagle,  that  dashes  freely  abroad  through  sun 
and  storm,  and  not  the  Canary,  that  is  content  to  nibble 
at  its  narrow  cage  in  the  parlour  window. 

Mr.  Clay  had  not  been  long  in  practice,  when  he  was 
employed  to  defend  Mrs.  Phelps,  a  woman  indicted  for 
murder.  Up  to  the  time  of  this  trial,  it  had  been  doubted 
by  some,  whether  his  powers  as  an  advocate  were  not 
overrated  by  a  too  partial  public.  It  had  been  some- 
times suggested,  that  the  youthful  stranger  caught  the  eye 
and  charmed  the  ear  by  the  fascination  of  his  manner 
and  the  melody  of  his  voice,  rather  than  convinced  the 
understanding  by  the  profundity  and  force  of  his  argu- 
ments ;  but  all  controversy  upon  this  point  was  now  to 
be  put  forever  to  rest.  Mrs.  Phelps  was  the  wife  of  a 
respectable  farmer,  and  was  herself  respected,  both  on  ac- 
count of  the  general  correctness  of  her  deportment,  and 
the  good  character  of  the  family  from  which  she  was  de- 
scended. Her  victim  was  a  Miss  Phelps,  a  beautiful  and 
amiable  young  lady,  and  the  sister  of  her  husband.  It 
seems,  that  Mrs.  P.,  while  in  her  husband's  house,  taking 
some  offence  at  her  sister-in-law,  seized  a  gun  and  shot 
her  instantly  through  the  heart.  The  poor  girl  had  only 
time  to  exclaim,  "Sister,  you  have  killed  me,"  and  ex- 


HENRY    CLAY.  13 

pired.  This  case  excited  the  intensest  sympathy  for  the 
husband  of  the  accused,  and  gave  rise  to  a  thousand  spe- 
culations as  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  crime.  When 
the  trial  came  on,  the  Court-House  was  crowded  to  over- 
flowing, and  the  interest  of  the  spectators  was  eloquently 
expressed  by  the  anxiety  of  their-  countenances,  and  the 
deep  hush  that  pervaded  the  hall.  The  fact  of  guilt  on 
the  part  of  the  defendant  could  not  be  contested.  The 
act,  for  which  she  stood  indicted,  had  been  committed 
in  the  presence  of  several  witnesses,  and  of  course,  the 
only  question  was,  to  what  class  of  crimes  the  offence  be- 
longed. If  it  were  pronounced  murder  of  the  first  degreej 
the  life  of  the  wretched  prisoner  would  be  the  forfeit,  but; 
if  manslaughter,  she  would  merely  be  punished  bjr  con- 
finement in  the  gaol  or  penitentiary.  The  legal  cifntest 
was  long  and  able.  The  efforts  of  the  counsel  for  the 
prosecution  were  such  as  might  have  been  expected  from 
a  powerful  and  learned  man  engaged  in  a  case  of  deep 
and  general  interest :  yet  Mr.  Clay  not  only  succeeded  in 
saving  the  life  of  his  client,  but  excited  in  her  behalf  such 
intense  pity  and  compassion,  by  his  moving  eloquence 
that  her  punishment  was  mitigated  to  the  lowest  de- 
gree permitted  by  the  law.  In  the  management  of  this 
case,  Mr.  C.  convinced  his  fellow  citizens,  that  he  was  not 
only  profoundly  versed  in  the  criminal  laws  of  his  coun- 
try, but  that  he  was  skilled  in  the  science  of  human 
nature,  and  knew  the  home  of  every  weakness  and  passion. 
Another  criminal  case,  in  which  Mr.  Clay  was  engaged 
shortly  afterward,  is  said  to  have  been  scarcely  less  inte- 
resting. It  was  tried  in  Harrison  County.  Two  Ger- 
mans, father  and  son,  had  been  indicted  for  murder,  and 
Mr.  C.  was  employed  to  defend  them.  The  deed  of  killing 
was  proved  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  Court,  and 
was  considered  an  aggravated  murder.  The  whole  of 
2 


14  BIOGRAPHY   OP 

Mr.  C.'s  efforts  were  consequently  directed,  not  to  the 
entire  exculpation  of  the  defendants,  but  to  the  saving 
of  their  lives.  After  a  warm  and  unintermitted  struggle 
of  five  days,  he  succeeded.  The  Jury  found  a  verdict  of 
manslaughter.  Not  satisfied  with  this  signal  triumph, 
Mr.  C.  moved  an  arrest  of  judgement,  and,  after  another 
day's  contest,  prevailed  in  this  also,  and,  of  course,  the 
prisoners  were  discharged,  without  even  the  punishment 
of  the  crime  of  which  the  Jury  had  found  them  guilty. 
During  the  whole  of  this  long  trial,  an  old,  ill-favoured 
German  female,  who  was  the  wife  of  the  elder  prisoner 
and  the  mother  of  the  younger,  had  been  sitting  in  one 
unvaried  posture,  watching  the  countenances  of  the  Jury, 
and  listening  to  the  spirited  contest  of  the  counsel, 
though  she  probably  understood  little  of  the  language 
in  which,  it  was  conducted.  After  the  success  of  the 
final  motion  for  an  arrest  of  judgement,  a  gentleman,  who 
had  been  observing  her,  approached  where  she  sat,  and 
whispered  in  her  ear,  that  her  husband  and  son  were 
acquitted.  Her  sudden  rapture  broke  over  all  restraint. 
She  threw  up  her  arms  in  a  wild  excess  of  joy,  and 
ran  to  Mi:  Clay,  and,  clinging  with  desperate  strength 
to  his  neck,  almost  smothered  him  with  her  kisses.  The 
young  advocate,  no  doubt,  would  willingly  have  dis- 
pensed with  these  tokens  of  female  favour;  but  the  hearts 
of  the  spectators  were  so  touched  and  purified  by  the  con- 
templation of  the  happiness  they  witnessed,  that,  if  a  smile 
rested  for  one  moment  upon  the  lip,  it  was  a  smile,  not 
of  derision,  but  of  sympathy  and  kindred  joy. 

Whilst  we  were  making  inquiries  in  relation  to  the 
cases  in  which  Mr.  Clay  distinguished  himself,  during  • 
the  early  part  of  his   legal  practice,  we  were,    several 
times,  referred  to  that  of  a  Mr.  Willis,  a  citizen  of  Fay 
ette  County,  who,  as  was  supposed,  had  committed  a  mur- 


HENRY   CLAY.  15 

der,  under  circumstances  of  peculiar  cruelty  and  cold- 
bloodedness. From  representations  made  previous  to  the 
trial,  Mr.  C.  consented  to  undertake  his  defence,  and,  by  a 
mighty  effort,  succeeded,  in  almost  direct  defiance  of  testi- 
mony, in  creating  a  division  of  the  Jury  as  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  defendant's  crime.  This  was  the  object  at 
which  he  specifically  aimed.  At  the  next  session  of  the 
Court,  the  Attorney  for  the  Commonwealth  moved  for 
a  venire  facias  de  novo,  in  other  words,  a  new  trial, 
which  was  granted  by  the  Court.  Mr.  Clay  made  no 
opposition  to  this  motion,  but  reserved  all  his  strength  for 
the  argument  before  the  Jury.  When  his  turn  came  for 
addressing  them,  in  reply  to  the  arguments  of  the  At- 
torney for  the  Commonwealth,  he  rose,  and  commenced 
with  assuming  the  position,  that,  whatever  opinion  the 
Jury  might  have  of  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the  prisoner, 
it  was  too  late  to  convict  him,  for  he  had  been  once  tried, 
and  the  law  required,  that  no  man  should  be  put  twice  in 
jeopardy  for  the  same  offence.  The  Court  was  startled  at 
this  assumption,  and  peremptorily  prohibited  the  speaker 
from  proceeding  in  the  argument  to  maintain  it.  Mr. 
Clay  drew  himself  proudly  up,  and  remarking,  that,  if  he 
was  not  to  be  allowed  to  argue  the  whole  case  to  the 
Jury,  he  could  have  nothing  more  to  say,  made  a  formal 
bow  to  the  Court,  put  his  books  into  his  green  bag,  and, 
with  Roman  dignity,  left  the  hall,  followed  by  his  asso- 
ciate counsel.  The  consequence  was  as  he  had  fore- 
seen. He  had  not  been  at  his  lodgings  more  than  five  or 
ten  minutes,  when  he  was  waited  on  by  a  messenger  from 
the  Court,  requesting  his  return,  and  assuring  him,  that 
he  should  be  permitted  to  argue  the  case  in  his  own  way. 
Instantly  he  made  his  re-appearance  in  the  Hall,  pressed, 
with  the  utmost  vehemence,  the  point  he  had  before  at- 
tempted to  establish,  and,  on  the  ground  that  his  client 


\Q  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

had  once  been  tried,  prevailed  on  the  Jury  to  give  him  his 
liberty,  without  any  reference  whatever  to  the  testimony 
against  him.  Such  a  decision  could  not  now  be  obtained 
in  Kentucky,  and,  at  the  period  in  question,  was  obviously 
contrary  to  law. 

We  have  found,  from  an  examination  of  the  court 
records,  in  Fayette  and  the  neighbouring  counties,  that, 
in  trials  for  capital  crimes,  Mr.  Clay  was  almost  uniform- 
ly the  advocate  of  the  defendant.  We  know  but  one 
exception,  and  this  grew  out  of  his  public  relations.  It 
appears,  that  he  had  made  an  effort  to  procure  the  office 
of  prosecuting  attorney  for  one  of  his  friends.  -  The 
Court,  however,  would  not  give  it  to  this  friend,  but  were 
willing  to  confer  it  on  Mr.  Clay  himself.  The  latter  felt 
a  strong  repugnance  to  the  appointment,  but  consented  to 
accept  it,  from  a  belief,  which  afterwards  proved  correct, 
that  he  should  be  able  to  transfer  it  to  his  friend  in  a  short 
time.  While  in  the  discharge  of  the  official  duties  of 
this  station,  he  appeared  at  the  bar  against  a  man  ac- 
cused of  a  capital  offence.  The  defendant  was  a  negro 
slave — a  proud  and  faithful  servant — and  one,  who  had 
never  been  accustomed  to  the  degradation  of  corporeal 
chastisement.  During  a  temporary  absence  of  his  master, 
however,  he  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  a  young  and 
passionate  overseer,  who,  for  some  slight  or  imaginary 
offence,  struck  him  rudely  with  a  horse-whip.  The  spirit 
of  the  slave  was  instantly  roused,  and,  seizing  a  weapon 
that  was  near  him,  he  laid  his  overseer  dead  upon  the  spot. 
This  offence,  if  the  perpetrator  had  been  a  white  man, 
would  have  been  so  clearly  a  case  of  manslaughter,  that 
the  counsel  for  the  prosecution  would  have  contended  for 
nothing  more.  It  had  all  the  distinguishing  characteris- 
ticks  of  manslaughter,  having  been  committed  in  a  mo- 
ment of  sudden  exasperation,  and  without  the  shadow 


HENRY   CLAY.  17 

of  previous  malice.  The  negro,  however,  stood  indicted 
for  murder,  and  it  belonged  to  Mr.  Clay,  as  Counsel  for 
the  Commonwealth,  to  sustain,  if  possible,  the  indictment. 
In  order  to  this,  he  contended,  in  a  long,  subtle,  and  elabo- 
rate argument,  that,  although  a  white  man,  who,  in  a  fit 
of  rage  on  account  of  personal  chastisement  killed  his 
assailant,  would  be  guilty  of  manslaughter  and  not  mur- 
der, a  slave  could  plead  no  such  mitigation  of  a  similar 
offence,  inasmuch  as  it  was  the  duty  of  slaves  to  submit  to 
punishment.  We  have  not  a  doubt,  that  this  argument 
was  directly  opposed  to  the  true  spirit  of  the  law.  Per- 
haps a  slave  is  bound  by  law  to  submit  to  chastisement 
— but  does  not  the  law  require  a  white  man  to  submit  to 
the  same  thing,  rather  than  take  life  ?  Certainly.  Even 
manslaughter  is  punishable  with  imprisonment.  The  par- 
ticular law,  which  distinguishes  manslaughter  from  mur- 
der, has  no  reference  to  the  duties  of  the  offender,  but 
has  its  whole  foundation  in  the  indulgence,  which  has 
been  thought  due  to  those  weaknesses  and  passions  of 
human  nature,  which  lead  to  the  violation  of  duties. 
Every  man,  who,  in  a  moment  of  excitement,  takes  life  to 
revenge  a  personal  indignity,  is  guilty  of  a  wrong — the 
•white  man  no  less  than  the  slave.  The  law  of  man- 
slaughter inquires  only  as  to  the  fact  of  the  existence  of 
the  excitement  at  the  time  the  deed  is  perpetrated — and 
its  provisions  are  as  valid  in  behalf  of  the  slave,  as  of 
any  other  member  of  the  community,  unless  it  can  be 
shown,  that  the  endurance  of  the  wrongs  and  miseries 
of  slavery  annihilates  the  darker  passions,  instead  of  fos- 
tering and  unchaining  them,  in  all  their  wildness  and 
strength.  Mr.  Clay  was  successful  in  his  argument,  not- 
withstanding the  invalidity  of  his  positions.  By  his 
strong  and  plausible  reasonings,  and  the  exuberance  and 
felicity  of  his  illustrations,  he  wrought  so  completely  upon 
2* 


18  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

the  minds  of  the  Jury,  that  the  prisoner  was  convicted  of 
murder,  and  sentenced  to  death.  Soon  afterward,  he  was 
borne  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  the  pride  of  spirit 
and  character,  which  he  there  displayed,  is  said  to  have 
been  worthy  of  a  Roman  patriot.  Being  asked,  whether 
he  was  anxious  that  his  life  should  be  spared — "No!" 
said  he,  sternly,  "I  would  not  live  a  day  longer,  unless 
in  the  enjoyment  of  liberty."  Mr.  Clay  was  not  a  wit- 
ness of  the  execution,  but  we  have  heard  him  remark,  that 
he  regretted  the  part  he  had  taken  in  procuring  the 
conviction  of  this  poor  slave,  more  than  any  other  act  of 
his  professional  life. 

It  is  indeed  a  remarkable  fact,  that,  notwithstanding 
the  immense  number  of  capital  cases,  which  Mr.  Clay  has 
defended,  not  one  of  his  clients  was  ever  sentenced  to 
death.  We  do  not  believe,  that  the  history  of  any  other 
advocate,  either  living  or  dead,  can  exhibit  such  a  series 'of 
splendid  triumphs.  The  state  of  society  that  existed  in 
Kentucky,  some  years  ago,  is  well  known.  Murders 
were  of  frequent  occurrence,  and,  as  a  natural  consequence, 
Mr.  C.  was  almost  constantly  engaged  in  defending  the 
accused.  From  his  uninterrupted  success,  it  will  readily 
be  inferred,  that,  whenever  those  who  were  indicted  for 
murder  were  so  fortunate  as  to  engage  his  professional 
services,  they  felt  that  their  lives  were  safe.  Such  'was 
indeed  the  case— but  Mr.  C.  would  not  consent  to  under- 
take the  defence  of  all  prisoners  indiscriminately.  It  is 
said  of  him,  that  he  never,  in  a  single  instance,  consented 
to  appear  in  behalf  of  a  man  charged  with  a  capital 
crime,  unless  he  either  believed  the  charge  to  be  unfound- 
ed, or  discovered  in  the  crime  some  little  palliating  cir- 
cumstance, which  enlisted  his  benevolent  sympathies. 
Such  indeed  is  the  ardour  of  his  temperament,  that,  when- 
ever he  had  once  enlisted  for  a  client,  his  feelings  con- 


RY  CLAY.  19 

tinned  deeply  and  thrillingly  interested,  whatever  facts 
might  be  developed  in  the  progress  of  the  trial.  He  has 
often  been  heard  to  say,  that  he  was  never  engaged  in 
conducting  any  defence,  where  he  would  not  gladly  have 
given  up  the  last  cent  of  his  fee,  if,  by  so  doing,  he  could 
have  advanced,  in  the  slightest  degree,  the  interests  of  his 
client's  cause. 

Although  Mr.  Clay  was  peculiarly  distinguished  for 
his  skilful  management  of  criminal  causes,  his  success 
in  civil  suits  was  scarcely  less  signal.  In  suits  that  in- 
volved the  land  laws  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky,  he  had 
no  rival. — But  it  would  be  in  vain  to  attempt  even  an 
enumeration  of  the  cases,  in  which,  during  the  early  years 
of  his  practice,  he  gathered  a  rich  harvest  of  gold  and 
fame.  In  a  short  biographical  sketch,  that  was  given  of 
him  about  three  years  ago,  we  find  mention  of  an  inci- 
dent in  his  professional  life,  which  was  certainly  a  stri- 
king illustration  of  the  rapidity  of  his  intellectual  combi- 
nations, and  his  power  of  seizing  upon  the  strong  points 
of^ja  case  intuitively.  We  give  it  as  a  single  specimen  of 
what  he  could  do.  In  conjunction  with  another  attor- 
ney of  eminence,  whose  name  we  have  forgotten,  he  was 
employed  to  argue,  in  the  Fayette  Circuit  Court,  a  question 
of  great  difficulty — one,  in  which  the  interests  of  the  liti- 
gant parties  were  deeply  involved.  At  the  opening  of  the 
Court,  something  occurred  to  call  him  away,  and  the 
whole  -  management  of  the  case  devolved  on  his  asso- 
ciate courteel.  Two  days  were  spent  in  discussing  the 
points  of  law,  which  were  to  govern  the  instructions  of 
the  Court  to  the  jury,  and,  on  each  of  these  points,  Mr. 
C.'s  colleague  was  foiled  by  his  antagonist.  At  the  end 
of  the  second  day,  Mr.  Clay  re-entered  the  Court.  He 
had  not  heard  a  word  of  the  testimony,  and  knew  nothing 
of  the  course  which  the  discussion  had  taken,  but,  after 


20  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

holding  a  very  short  consultation  with  his  colleague,  he 
drew  up  a  statement  of  the  form  in  which  he  \v  ished  the 
instructions  of  the  Court  to  be  given  to  the  jury,  and  ac- 
companied his  petition  with  a  few  observations,  so  entirely 
novel  and  satisfactory,  that  it  was  granted  without  the 
least  hesitation.  A  corresponding  verdict  was  instantly 
returned  by  the  jury  j  and  thus  the  case,  which  had  been 
on  the  very  point  of  being  decided  against  Mr.  Clay's 
client,  was  decided  in  his  favour,  in  less  than  half  an 
hour  after  Mr.  C.  entered  the  Court-House. 


HENRY   CLAY.  21 


SECTION  SECOND. 

THE  commencement  of  Mr.  Clay's  political  career  may 
oe  dated  as  far  back  as  the  year  1797 — a  period  at  which 
he  had  scarcely  begun  the  practice  of  law.  The  people 
of  Kentucky  were  then  about  to  elect  a  convention  to 
frame  a  new  constitution  for  the  state ;  and  one  feature  of 
the  plan,  which  had  been  submitted  to  them,  was  a  pro- 
vision for  the  final  emancipation  of  the  slave  population. 
The  strongest  prejudices  of  a  majority  of  the  people  in 
every  part  of  the  state,  were  arrayed  against  this  measure, 
and  Mr.  C.  was  aware  of  the  fact,  but  his  sentiments  and 
his  feelings  were  on  the  side  of  emancipation ;  and,  with- 
out taking  a  moment's  heed  to  his  popularity,  he  entered 
into  the  defence  of  his  favourite  policy,  with  all  the  deep 
and  unquenchable  ardour  of  his  nature.  His  vigorous 
pen  was  busy  in  the  public  journals,  and  his  eloquent 
voice  was  raised  m  almost  every  assemblage,  in  favour 
of  the  election  of  men  to  the  convention,  who  would  con- 
tend for  the  eradication  of  slavery.  Let  it  not  be  sup- 
posed, that  the  principles  which  he  essayed  to  vindicate, 
were  the  same  that  are  avowed  by  certain  ill-judging  phi- 
lanthropists of  the  present  day.  He  did  not  contend  for 
the  abolition  of  slavery  at  once,  but  by  a  slow  and  cer- 
tain process.  He  did  not  propose  to  break  suddenly  down 
the  barriers  of  the  fearful  lake,  and  let  the  dark  and  thun- 
dering torrent  sweep  over  the  country,  like  the  tide  of 
death — but  to  open  an  outlet,  through  which  the  waters 
might  pass  off  in  silence  and  safety.  The  struggle  was 
a  fierce  one ;  but  the  advocates  of  slavery  prevailed,  and 
the  young  champion  of  liberty  and  equal  rights,  who  had 


22  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

made  the  aristocrats  of  the  land  tremble  for  their  ancient 
prerogatives,  became  unpopular  on  account  of  the  part  he 
had  acted.  The  true  principles  of  slavery  were  not  then 
understood.  The  idea  of  emancipation  was  new.  It 
alarmed  the  prejudices  of  the  multitude,  and  Mr.  C's.  pow- 
erful vindications  of  it,  were  regarded  by  many,  rather 
as  the  brilliant  but  wayward  efforts  of  a  young  votary  of 
ambition,  striving  to  attract  attention  by  the  startling  and 
paradoxical  character  of  his  opinions,  than  as  the  results 
of  a  calm  and  deliberate  conviction  of  right.  This  was 
unquestionably  a  mistake.  His  sincerity  in  opposing  ne- 
gro servitude  was  manifest  from  every  act  of  his  life — 
from  his  professional,  no  less  than  from  his  political  exer- 
tions. Whenever  a  slave  brought  an  action  at  law  for  his 
liberty,  Mr.  C.  volunteered  as  his  advocate ;  and,  it  is  said, 
that  in  the  whole  course  of  his  practice,  he  never  failed 
to  obtain  a  decision  in  the  slave's  favour.  A  passion  for 
the  liberty  cf  mankind  seems  to  have  formed,  at  that  early 
period,  a  portion  of  his  being,  and  he  has  not  changed 
since.  He  has  been  the  slave's  friend  through  life.  In 
all  stations  he  has  pleaded  the  cause  of  African  freedom, 
without  fear  from  high  or  low.  To  him,  more  than  to 
any  other  individual,  is  to  be  ascribed  that  great  revolu- 
tion which  has  taken  place  in  the  public  sentiment  upon 
this  subject — a  revolution,  whose  wheels  must  continue  to 
move  onward,  till  they  reach  the  goal  of  universal  free- 
dom. A  conviction  of  the  expediency  and  necessity  of 
ultimate  emancipation,  has  been  spreading  farther  and 
farther  among  our  countrymen,  and  taking  deeper  and 
deeper  root  in  their  minds,  and  it  requires  not  the  spirit  of 
prophecy  to  foretell  the  end.  This  rapid  and  continued 
triumph  of  the  principles,  which  it  was  the  object  of  Mr. 
Clay's  first  political  labours  to  establish,  may  well  be  a 


HENRY   CLAY.  23 

source  of  pride  to  him,  and   honest  exultation  to  his 
friends. 

The  partial  unpopularity  which  Mr.  Clay  brought  upon 
himself,  by  his  bold  and  persevering  advocacy  of  a  mea- 
sure, which  the  majority  of  his  fellow-citizens  considered 
as  tending  to  the  subversion  of  their  most  important  inte- 
rests, was  not  of  long  duration.  In  1798 — 99,  the  admi- 
nistration of  the  general  government  enacted  the  famous 
alien  and  sedition  laws,  which  the  democracy  of  the 
country  justly  regarded  as  violations  of  the  spirit  of  the 
constitution,  and  flagrant  aggressions  upon  the  independ- 
ence of  the  people.  The  spirit,  which  was  thus  awa- 
kened throughout  the  country,  too  fierce  to  be  quelled  till 
the  administration  retraced  its  steps,  is  still  vivid  in  the 
memories  of  the  politicians  of  that  period.  Kentucky 
was  one  of  the  first  states  to  array  herself  against  the  ob- 
noxious laws,  and  she  kept  her  attitude,  undaunted,  to  the 
last.  On  this  occasion,  Mr.  Clay  came  forward  in  defence 
of  the  rights  of  the  people;  and,  notwithstanding  his 
youth  and  inexperience,  and  the  extraordinary  zeal  and 
eloquence  of  some  of  the  gentlemen  who  were  engaged  in 
the  same  patriotick  cause  with  himself,  he  was  soon  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  master-spirits  of  his  party.  The 
object  of  his  exertions  was,  at  once,  worthy  of  his  pow- 
ers, and  adapted  to  their  noblest  manifestations.  He  has 
been  deservedly  called  "  the  great  commoner."  It  is  in 
the  defence  of  popular  rights,  and  the  indignant  denun- 
ciation of  aristocratical  tyranny,  that  his  eloquence  hag 
been  most  frequently  exerted.  A  gentleman,  who  was 
present  at  one  of  the  discussions  of  the  alien  and  sedition 
laws,  informs  us,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  an 
adequate  idea  of  the  effect  produced.  The  populace  had 
assembled  in  the  fields,  in  the  vicinity  of  Lexington,  and 
were  first  addressed  by  Mr.  George  Nicholas,  a  distin- 


24  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

guished  man,  and  a  powerful  speaker.  The  address  of 
Mr.  Nicholas  was  long  and  vehement;  and  when  he  de- 
scended from  his  stand,  he  was  greeted  by  the  most  en- 
thusiastick  cheers  of  the  multitude.  The  name  of  "  CLAY" 
was  now  shouted  from  all  parts  of  the  assemblage,  and 
the  young  orator  made  his  appearance.  It  was  a  proud 
day  for  him.  He  resumed  the  subject  of  governmental 
usurpation,  which  had  been  discussed  by  Mr.  Nicholas, 
and  set  it  in  a  new  and  more  striking  light,  until  indig- 
nation came  like  a  dark  shadow  upon  every  countenance. 
The  flame  that  burned  in  his  own  heart,  was  caught  up 
and  lighted  in  every  other.  He  ceased — but  there  was  no 
shout.  The  feelings  of  the  gathered  multitude  were  too 
wild  and  deep  for  applause;  and  a  low,  sullen  murmur, 
rose  upon  the  air,  like  the  ominous  tones  of  the  ocean, 
when  "the  infant  storm  is  sitting  on  his  dim  dark  cloud." 
Mr.  William  Murray,  a  man  of  great  worth  and  popu- 
larity, though  a  federalist,  and  a  supporter  of  the  admi- 
nistration, now  attempted  to  address  the  people,  in  reply 
to  Nicholas  and  Clay.  For  some  time  his  efforts  were  in 
vain;  and  he  would  have  been  driven  from  his  stand,  had 
not  his  opponents  generously  interfered  in  his  behalf.  He, 
too,  was  a  man  of  strength  and  eloquence;  but  now, 
•when  his  words  followed  those  of  Clay  and  Nicholas,  his 
voice  seemed  to  have  lost  its  spell — it  was  the  quick  patter 
of  the  rain  after  the  bolt  had  fallen.  Another  federalist, 
whose  name  we  have  forgotten,  attempted  to  follow,  in 
support  of  Mr.  Murray— but  the  people  would  hear  no 
more.  His  first  words  were  the  signal  for  a  simultaneous 
rush  from  all  directions  toward  the  spot  where  he  stood; 
and  it  was  only  by  a  precipitate  flight  into  the  country 
that  he  escaped  being  treated  with  personal  indignity. 
The  people  now  took  Clay  and  Nicholas  upon  their  shoul- 
ders, and  forcing  them  into  a  carriage,  drew  them  through 


HENRY   CLAY.  25 

the  streets,  amid  shouts  of  applause.  Such  an  incident 
in  the  life  of  a  young  orator,  who,  as  yet,  had  scarcely 
attained  to  the  years  of  manhood,  must  have  made  him 
feel  that  he  had  a  spirit  within  him,  which  might  enable 
him  to  acquire  a  fame  that  would  gather  freshness  from 
the  stream  of  years,  and  flourish  beautifully  over  his  tomb, 
like  ivy  over  the  ruins  of  a  fallen  temple. 

In  1803,  while  Mr.  Clay  and  a  number  of  his  friends 
were  at  the  Olympian  Springs,  in  Bath  county,  there  was 
an  election  of  members  of  the  legislature;  and,  without 
Mr.  C.'s  consent  or  knowledge,  a  poll  was  opened  for  him 
in  the  county  of  Fayette.  At  first,  his  success  seemed 
impossible — several  old  and  distinguished  candidates  ha- 
ving already  been  brought  before  the  electors.  During 
the  first  and  second  days  he  received  a  very  respectable 
support,  but  was  not,  it  is  believed,  in  advance  of  his 
rivals,  who  were  constantly  on  the  ground,  haranguing- 
the  people  in  favour  of  their  respective  claims,  and  insist- 
ing that  Mr,  Clay  did  not  wish  the  office,  to  which  his 
friends  had  nominated  him.  On  the  evening  of  the  se- 
cond, or  the  morning  of  the  third  day  of  the  election,  Mr. 
C.  himself  arrived  on  the  ground.  At  first  he  adopted 
the  resolution  of  taking  no  part  in  the  contest;  but  after 
listening,  for  some  time,  to  the  electioneering  speeches  of 
his  competitors,  and  witnessing  the  arts  of  intrigue  that 
were  practised  to  defeat  him,  his  feelings  became  gradu- 
ally interested,  and  he,  at  length,  addressed  the  electors  in 
person.  His  remarks  were  few,  but  well  directed.  He 
told  his  fellow-freemen  that  he  was,  indeed,  young  and 
inexperienced,  and  had  neither  announced  himself  as  a 
candidate,  nor  solicited  their  votes;  but  that,  as  his  friends 
had  thought  proper  to  bring  forward  his  name,  he  was 
anxious  not  to  be  defeated.  He  then  gave  an  explanation 
of  his  political  views,  and  closed  with  an  ingenuous  ap- 
3 


26  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

peal  to  the  feelings  of  the  people;  and  such  was  the  effect 
produced,  that  his  election  was  subsequently  carried,  al- 
most by  acclamation.  This  was  Mr.  C.'s  first  election  to 
an}  office;  and  when  we  recollect  that  it  took  place  in  a 
state  where,  especially  at  that  period,  it  was  the  universal 
practice  of  candidates  to  proclaim  their  own  names  and 
qualifications  several  weeks  previous  to  the  day  of  trial, 
and  seek  for  support  by  intrigue,  in  all  its  forms  of  wick- 
edness and  cunning,  we  shall  readily  conclude  that  Mr. 
Clay  was  regarded,  in  his  own  county,  as  a  young  man 
of  extraordinary  intelligence  and  political  virtue.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark,  that  the  confidence  which  was  thus 
reposed  in  him  in  his  earlier  years,  has  never  been  with- 
drawn. Whenever  his  friends  have  asked  an  office  for 
him  at  the  hands  of  the  citizens  of  Fayette,  it  has  been 
given  him  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

One  of  the  immediate  causes  of  Mr.  Clay's  election  to 
the  office  of  representative,  in  1803,  grew  out  of  the  state 
of  public  feeling  in  Fayette,  on  the  subject  of  the  Lex- 
ington Insurance  Office.  Mr.  Felix  Grundy,  then  an  in- 
fluential politician  in  Kentucky,  had  given  evidence  of  an 
intention  to  procure  the  repeal  of  the  law  incorporating 
the  insurance  office :  and,  with  a  view  to  this  object,  was 
electioneering  in  the  counties  south  of  the  Kentucky  river. 
Mr.  Clay,  being  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  gave  lit- 
tle attention  to  Mr.  Grundy' s  movements ;  but  it  was  well 
known  in  Fayette,  that  he  regarded  the  object  of  Mr.  G. 
as  both  inexpedient  and  unconstitutional.  Holding  these 
views,  he  was  selected  by  the  friends  of  the  insurance 
office  as  their  champion.  During  the  legislative  session 
of  that  year,  he  easily  defeated  the  attempt  that  was 
made  to  repeal  the  law  of  incorporation;  but  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  1804,  Mr.  Grundy  himself  obtained  a  seat  in 
the  house,  and  brought  with  him  a  majority  of  members 


HENRY    CLAY.  27 

pledged  to  support  his  views.  In  such  a  state  of  things, 
it  was  supposed,  that  argument  would  be  of  no  avail. 
The  representatives  of  the  people,  even  if  convinced  of 
the  impropriety  of  the  repeal,  would  have  no  right  to  act 
on  that  conviction.  Mr.  Clay,  however,  met  Mr.  Grundy 
in  the  debate,  determined,  at  least,  that  the  character  of 
the  measure,  which  was  about  to  be  forced  so  improperly 
through  the  house,  should  be  thoroughly  exposed  and  un- 
derstood. The  only  heroes  in  opposition  were  Clay  and 
Grundy,  both  good  speakers,  and  youthful  politicians ;  and 
the  display  of  talent  by  each  was  so  brilliant  during  the 
two  days  of  the  discussion,  that  the  hall  was  thronged 
with  spectators,  many  of  whom  could  obtain  no  seats ; 
and  the  members  of  the  Senate  were  in  almost  constant 
attendance  at  the  house.  It  was  the  one  great  debate  of 
the  session.  All  acknowledged  that  Grundy  had  talents, 
and  that  he  managed  the  debate  with  extreme  adroitness ; 
but  no  one  pretended  that  he  was  equal  to  his  opponent, 
either  in  elocution,  political  information,  logical  skill,  or 
extent  of  mental  resources.  After  rinding  himself  com- 
pelled to  desist  from  offensive  warfare,  he  tried  every  ex- 
pedient to  secure  a  safe  escape;  but  his  eagle-foe  pursued 
him  close  in  all  his  movements — his  sweeps  towards  earth 
and  his  flights  towards  heaven — and,  at  last,  grappled 
with  him,  and  held  him  fast.  In  the  trial  of  numbers, 
which  followed  this  encounter,  Mr.  Grundy's  party  pre- 
vailed, as  had  been  foreseen ;  but  this  poor  triumph  availed 
nothing.  Mr.  Clay  had  so  plainly  demonstrated  the  un- 
constitutionality  and  impolicy  of  the  measure,  against 
which  his  efforts  were  directed,  that  the  members  of  the 
Senate,  who  had  been  present,  reversed  the  doings  of  the 
house  without  a  division,  and  almost  without  a  discussion, 
and  the  insurance  company  was  permitted  to  retain  ita 
charter. 


28  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

In  the  course  of  the  legislative  session  of  1805,  Mr, 
Clay  made  an  effort  to  procure  the  removal  of  the  seat  of 
government  from  Frankfort ;  and  his  speech  on  the  occa- 
sion is  said  to  have  been  an  inimitable  specimen  of  argu- 
ment and  humour.  Frankfort  is  peculiar  in  its  appear- 
ance and  situation,  being  sunk  down,  like  a  huge  pit, 
below  the  surrounding  country,  and  environed  by  rough 
and  precipitous  ledges.  "  We  have,"  said  Mr.  C.,  "  the 
model  of  an  inverted  hat — Frankfort  is  the  body  of  the 
hat,  and  the  lands  adjacent  are  the  brim.  To  change  the 
figure,  it  is  nature'  s  great  penitentiary ;  and,  if  the  mem- 
bers of  this  house  would  know  the  bodily  condition  of  the 
prisoners,  let  them  look  at  those  poor  creatures  in  the  gal- 
lery." As  he  said  this,  he  pointed  with  his  finger  to  half 
a  dozen  figures,  that  chanced,  at  the  moment,  to  be  moving 
about  in  the  galleries,  more  like  animated  skeletons  just 
escaped  from  the  grave-yard,  than  ordinary  specimens  of 
humanity.  The  objects  thus  designated,  seeing  the  atten- 
tion of  the  whole  assembly  suddenly  called  to  them,  and 
conscious  of  their  own  miserable  looks,  dodged,  with  the 
most  ludicrous  terror,  behind  the  railing,  and  the  assem- 
bly was  thrown  into  a  convulsion  of  merriment.  The 
members  of  the  house  were  so  well  satisfied  with  Mr.  C.'s 
argument,  and  so  much  pleased  with  his  humour,  that 
they  readily  went  with  him  in  voting  for  the  removal  of 
the  seat  of  government ;  but  it  was  subsequently  found 
impossible  to  agree  upon  a  new  location,  and  the  legisla- 
ture still  continues  to  hold  its  sessions  at  Frankfort.  Mr. 
C.'s  attempts  at  the  humourous  were  never  frequent,  but 
they  were  usually  irresistible ;  and  although,  on  such  oc- 
casions, his  remarks  seemed  the  mere  breaking  forth  of 
involuntary  hilarity,  they  were  always  directed,  with  philo- 
sophical skill,  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  object  which 
he  had  in  view. 


HENRY   CLAY.  29 

Notwithstanding  the  conspicuous  and  important  part 
which  Mr.  Clay  was  now  acting  in  the  legislature,  his 
professional  labours  were  continued  without  remission. 
The  two  distinct  spheres  in  which  he  moved,  mutually  re- 
flected brightness  on  each  other.  His  great  reputation  as  a 
civilian  increased  his  practice  at  the  bar,  and  his  high  cha- 
racter as  a  lawyer  gave  him  an  additional  influence  in  the 
legislature.  His  judicial  eloquence  retained  all  its  early 
characteristicks,  but  was  constantly  improving  in  grace  and 
strength.  His  high  station  enabled  him  to  disdain  all  those 
petty  devices,  to  which  the  inferior  members  of  the  profes- 
sion are  often  tempted  to  descend  for  the  sake  of  a  subsist- 
ence. His  enemies,  as  well  as  his  friends,  admit,  that  he 
could  never  be  prevailed  on,  by  offers  from  the  great  and 
affluent,  to  conduct  an  unjust  or  oppressive  prosecution ; 
and,  that  he  never  refused  to  undertake  the  defence  of  a 
man  in  humble  life,  on  account  of  the  power  or  standing  of 
the  opposite  party.  This  very  magnanimity  involved  him, 
at  the  period  of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  in  an  un- 
pleasant quarrel  with  Col.  Joseph  Hamilton  Daviess,  the 
district  attorney  of  the  United  States,  and  a  man  of  high 
character  and  great  genius.  Col.  Daviess,  in  a  moment 
of  irritation,  had  struck  a  tavern-keeper  in  Frankfort  for 
some  common  and  trifling  remark.  To  punish  the  indigni- 
ty, the  tavern-keeper  obtained  a  writ  against  the  offender. 
This  was  easily  done,  but  to  procure  an  attorney  to  conduct 
the  prosecution  proved  a  more  difficult  matter.  The  plain- 
tiff made  application  to  every  member  of  the  bar  in  his  vi- 
cinity, but  all  were  afraid  of  provoking  the  indignation  of 
Col.  D.,  and  refused  to  appear  against  him.  At  length  the 
plaintiff,  by  the  advice  of  friends,  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Clay,  detailing  his  wrongs  and  perplexities,  and  inquiring 
whether  Mr.  C.  would  consent  to  undertake  the  manage- 
3* 


30  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

ment  of  his  cause.  Without  the  least  hesitation,  Mr.  Clay 
returned  an  affirmative  answer,  and  the  cause  soon  came 
on  for  trial.  The  defendant,  Col.  Daviess,  acted  as  his 
own  attorney,  and  was  cruelly  and  unnecessarily  severe 
upon  the  humble  individual,  by  whom  he  had  been  arraigned. 
Mr.  Clay  was  never  the  man  to  hear  a  client  abused  with 
impunity,  and  on  this  occasion,  he  retorted  with  a  keenness, 
at  which  Col.  D.  was  so  incensed,  that,  during  an  interval 
of  the  trial,  he  sent  Mr.  Clay  a  note,  warning  him,  with 
an  air  of  something  like  authority,  not  to  indulge  again 
in  such  offensive  language.  The  latter  instantly  returned 
for  answer,  that  he  was  the  plaintiff's  attorney,  and  should 
manage  his  cause  according  to  his  own  judgement,  without 
taking  advice  from  any  one,  and,  least  of  all,  from  his  cli- 
ent's antagonist.  The  trial  proceeded,  and  Col.  Daviess, 
burning  with  shame,  and  stung  to  resentment  by  the  laconick 
reply  that  had  been  returned  to  his  note,  sent  Mr.  Clay  a 
challenge  to  single  combat.  The  affair  came  near  termi- 
nating seriously.  The  challenge,  we  believe,  was  accepted ; 
but  the  friends  of  the  parties  interfered,  and  effected  such 
an  entire  reconciliation  between  them,  that  they  continued 
strongly  attached  to  each  other,  till  the  death  of  Col.  Da- 
viess, who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  some 
years  afterwards. 

It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1806,  and  while  Mr.  Clay  was 
an  active  and  influential  member  of  the  legislature,  that  he 
appeared  at  the  bar  in  behalf  of  the  celebrated  Aaron  Burr, 
who  had  been  arrested  in  the  state  of  Kentucky,  at  the  in- 
stance of  the  district  attorney  of  the  United  States,  Col. 
Daviess,  upon  a  charge  of  commencing  a  military  expedi- 
tion contrary  to  the  federal  laws.  Young  as  Mr.  Clay 
then  was,  it  certainly  was  a  high  compliment  to  his  talents 
and  legal  attainments,  that  a  man  of  Burr's  vast  pov  jts, 
and  unrivalled  keenness  of  discrimination,  should  select 


HENRY  CLAY.  31 

Him  for  his  attorney  in  a  cause  involving  life  and  honour ; 
but,  as  Mr.  C.'s  conduct  in  this  affair  has  been  the  subject 
of  many  unwarrantable  remarks  from  his  enemies,  we  have 
thought  it  expedient  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  the  important 
facts  connected  with  it.  The  circumstances  under  which 
Burr  was  arrested,  were  peculiar.  Scarce  any  man  in 
Kentucky,  at  that  time,  believed  him  guilty  of  the  crime 
laid  to  his  charge.  In  the  early  part  of  the  year  in  which 
he  was  arrested,  two  gentlemen  by  the  name  of  Street  and 
Wood,  went  from  Virginia  to  Kentucky,  and  commenced 
the  publication  of  a  newspaper,  entitled  the  "  Western 
World"  the  chief  object  of  which  was  to  revive  an  old  politi- 
cal controversy,  that  had  been  forgotten  nearly  twenty  years 
The  principal  supporter  of  the  controversy  on  one  side  wc.s 
Humphrey  Marshall,  who  has  since  written  the  "  History 
of  Kentucky."  He  and  his  coadjutors  endeavoured  to 
show,  that  several  of  the  most  distinguished  and  popular 
men  of  the  party  which  then  supported  Mr.  Jefferson's  ad- 
ministration, had  been  engaged  in  a  criminal  conspiracy  to 
annex  Kentucky  to  the  dominions  of  Spain  in  North  Ame- 
rica. Among  the  persons  inculpated,  were  several  of  Mr. 
Clay's  warmest  and  most  intimate  friends.  It  was  while 
the  community  was  yet  indignant  at  the  authors  of  these 
pretended  disclosures  of  a  former  conspiracy,  that  Col. 
Burr  was  charged  with  a  conspiracy  of  subsequent  date, 
and,  of  course,  he  was  regarded  with  the  same  general 
sympathy,  which  had  been  extended  to  those  implicated 
in  the  previous  charge.  He  was  considered  a  persecuted 
patriot.  It  was  the  prevalent  opinion,  that  his  arrest  was 
prompted  by  the  prejudices  entertained  against  him  by 
the  district  attorney,  a  passionate  admirer  of  Col.  Alexan- 
der Hamilton,  whom  Burr  had  killed  in  a  duel.  The  put 
lick  rnind  having  been  poisoned  on  the  subject  of  conspira- 
cies and  treasonable  projects,  it  was  strongly  suspected, 


32  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

that  the  district  attorney  was  attempting  to  avail  himself 
of  this  state  of  things  to  revenge  the  death  of  his  idol  upon 
Col.  Burr.  Mr.  Clay  and  Col.  John  Allen,  the  council  of 
the  accused,  partook  of  the  sentiments  and  sympathies  of 
the  publick  in  respect  to  his  innocence,  and,  when  he  sent 
them  a  large  sum  of  money  in  anticipation  of  their  services, 
they  returned  it  to  him,  considering  that  it  was  improper 
to  treat  as  an  ordinary  culprit  a  distinguished  and  perse- 
cuted stranger  from  a  distant  state,  who  had  been  eminent 
in  the  legal  profession,  and  stood  high  in  the  national 
councils.  Col.  Burr  was  first  brought  before  the  federal 
court  at  Frankfort,  and  discharged.  No  presentment  or 
indictment  was  found  against  him,  the  district  attorney 
not  being  prepared  with  the  evidence,  by  which  he  expected 
to  sustain  the  prosecution.  Shortly  afterward  Col.  B.  was 
again  arrested  on  the  same  charge,  but,  in  the  interval, 
Mr.  Clay  had  been  chosen  by  the  Kentucky  legislature 
a  senator  of  the  United  States.  This  circumstance,  pla- 
cing Mr.  C.  in  a  new  relation  to  the  general  government, 
created  some  doubt  in  his  mind  as  to  the  propriety  of  his 
undertaking  the  defence  of  a  man  accused  of  treason.  To 
strengthen  his  conviction,  that  there  was  no  foundation  for 
the  prosecution,  Colonel  Burr,  who  was  extremely  anx- 
ious to  obtain  his  professional  aid,  addressed  a  note  to  him, 
under  date  of  December  1st,  in  which  the  following  lan- 
guage was  used.  "  I  have  no  design,  nor  have  I  taken 
any  measure,  to  promote  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  or  a 
separation  of  any  one  or  more  states  from  the  residue.  I 
have  neither  published  a  line  on  this  subject,  nor  has  any 
one.  through  my  agency  or  with  my  knowledge.  I  have 
uo  design  to  intermeddle  with  the  government,  or  to  dis- 
turb the  tranquillity  of  the  United  States,  or  of  its  terri- 
tories, or  any  part  of  them.  I  have  neither  issued,  nor 
signed,  nor  promised  a  commission  to  any  person,  for  any 


HENRY    CLAY.  33 

purpose.  I  do  not  own  a  musket  nor  bayonet,  nor  any 
single  article  of  military  stores,  nor  does  any  person  for 
me,  by  my  authority  or  with  my  knowledge.  My  views 
have  been  fully  explained  to,  and  approved  by,  several  of 
the  principal  officers  of  government,  and,  I  believe,  are 
well  understood  by  the  administration,  and  seen  by  it  with 
complacency ;  they  are  such  as  every  man  of  honour,  and 
every  good  citizen,  must  approve.  Considering  the  high 
station  you  now  fill  in  our  national  councils,  I  have 
thought  these  explanations  proper,  as  well  to  counteract 
the  chimerical  tales,  which  malevolent  persons  have  so  in- 
dustriously circulated,  as  to  satisfy  you  that  you  have  not 
espoused  the  cause  of  a  man  in  any  way  unfriendly  to  the 
laws,  the  government,  or  the  interests  of  his  country" 
Upon  the  reception  of  this  note,  Mr.  Clay  consented  to 
appear  again  for  Colonel  Burr.  The  accused  was  brought 
before  the  court,  and  the  district  attorney  submitted  his  in- 
dictment, and  sent  his  evidence  to  the  jury.  After  some 
deliberation,  the  jury  returned  the  indictment  not  a  true 
bill,  and,  at  the  same  time,  presented  an  address,  in  which 
they  stated,  that  nothing  had  appeared  in  the  evidence  to 
justify  the  least  apprehension  of  any  design  on  the  part 
of  the  accused  to  disturb  the  public  tranquillity.  This 
decision  was  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  and  opinions 
of  the  people.  When  the  immense  crowd,  that  was  pre- 
sent in  the  capitol  at  Frankfort  to  witness  the  proceedings, 
heard  the  verdict,  there  was  one  general  and  tremendous 
burst  of  applause — a  remarkable  incident,  at  that  time,  in 
Kentucky,  and  one  which  strongly  evinced  the  extent  of 
popular  feeling  in  Colonel  Burr's  behalf,  even  after  his 
conduct  had  been  partially  investigated.  A  short  time 
subsequent  to  this  trial,  Mr.  Clay  proceeded  to  the  city  of 
Washington,  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  On  arriving  there,  and  seeing  the  evidence  which 


S4  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

had  been  colbcted  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  as  to  the  guilt  of 
Colonel  Burr,  especially  a  letter  in  cypher,  which  the  lat- 
ter had  transmitted  by  Colonel  Samuel  Swartwout,  to  the 
commander  of  the  United  States'  army,  containing  a  par- 
tial disclosure  of  his  criminal  projects,  Mr.  Clay  became 
tatisfied  that  the  people  of  Kentucky  and  himself  had 
been  deceived  as  to  his  character.  He  gave  a  strong, 
and  what,  by  some,  may  be  regarded  a  harsh  evidence  oi 
the  deception  which  Colonel  Burr  had  practised  on  him ; 
when,  in  1815,  upon  his  meeting  him,  the  first  time 
after  the  trial,  in  the  court  room,  in  the  city  of  New- 
York,  he  refused  to  receive  Colonel  B.'s  hand,  which  was 
tendered  to  him  in  the  presence  of  the  court  and  its  at- 
tendants. 

This  is  a  statement  of  all  the  intercourse  ever  held  by 
Henry  Clay  with  Aaron  Burr.  Why  should  it  induce  a 
suspicion  of  his  integrity  ?  Burr  was  arraigned  for  crime 
— the  constitution  granted  him  the  right  to  appear  by 
counsel — and  the  honour  of  the  profession  demanded  of 
Mr.  Clay,  convinced  as  he  was  of  Mr.  B.'s  innocence,  not 
to  withhold  his  assistance  in  procuring  him  a  fair  trial 
This  he  did  in  conjunction  with  Colonel  Allen,  as  pure  a 
patriot-hero  as  ever  lived  and  died  for  his  country ; — and 
yet,  from  these  circumstances,  political  malice  has  not 
failed  to  argue,  that  Mr.  Clay  shared  in  the  guilt  of  Burr's 
conspiracy.  The  shaft  was  aimed  with  a  will  sufficiently 
deadly — but  it  fell  upon  a  breast  of  steel.  The  charge  of 
treason,  preferred  against  a  man  who  has  done  more  for 
his  own  country  than  any  other  living  statesman,  and 
whose  voice  has  echoed  beyond  her  confines,  and,  with  a 
tone  of  creative  power,  called  other  republics  into  being; 
is  like  the  other  infamous  calumnies  that  have  been  pro- 
pagated against  the  same  illustrious  individual,  apd  like 


HENRY    CLAY.  35 

them,  must  soon  be  lost  amid  the  lumber  of  forgotten 
things.  Such  conspiracies,  to  ruin  a  patriot,  can  only 
end  in  the  prostration  of  the  conspirators. 


"  He  who,  of  old,  would  rend  the  oak, 
Dreamed  not  of  the  rebound." 


Mr.  Clay  s  first  appointment  to  the  United  States  Senate 
took  place,  as  has  already  been  stated,  in  the  latter  part  of 
1806.  This  appointment  was  not  for  a  regular  senato- 
rial term  of  six  years,  but  merely  for  a  single  session,  the 
residue  of  the  term  of  General  Adair,  who  had  resigned 
his  seat.  The  new  senator  proceeded  to  Washington,  in 
December,  1806;  and,  by  a  rather  singular  incident, 
learned,  before  his  arrival  at  the  capitol,  what  expectations 
had  there  been  formed  of  him,  with  regard  to  a  particu- 
lar measure,  by  which  the  senate  was  then  agitated.  A 
few  miles  from  Washington,  he  met  with  a  stranger  from 
Georgetown,  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  who,  without 
knowing  either  his  name  or  station,  incidentally  informed 
him,  in  the  course  of  a  friendly  colloquy,  that,  at  the  seat 
of  government,  there  was  one  engrossing  topic  of  conver- 
sation. This  topic  was  the  erection  of  a  bridge  over  the 
Potomac  river.  The  citizens  of  Washington  and  Alex- 
andria, according  to  the  gentleman's  statement,  were  zeal- 
ous in  favour  of  the  bridge,  for  the  construction  of  which, 
they  were  endeavouring  to  obtain  authority  from  congress ; 
but  the  people  of  Georgetown  were  strongly  opposed  to  it, 
from  the  belief  that  it  would  materially  injure,  if  it  did 
not  ruin,  the  prosperity  of  their  city.  Mr.  Clay  inquired 
of  his  companion,  how  the  senate  would  probably  decide 
the  question.  "We  have  ascertained,"  replied  the  gen- 
tleman, "how  each  of  the  old  senators  will  vote — they 
are  equally  divided;  but  a  new  member,  of  the  name  of 


36  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

Clay,  is  daily  expected  to  take  his  seat;  and,  if  he  arrives 
before  the  question  is  put,  it  is  said  that  he  will  certainly 
vote  against  the  bridge,  and  decide  the  controversy  in  our 
favour."  Mr.  C.  did  not  make  himself  known,  but  pro- 
ceeded to  Washington,  and  found,  on  his  arrival,  that  the 
statement  which  had  been  made  to  him,  in  relation  to  the 
condition  of  popular  feeling,  was  not  exaggerated.  No- 
thing seemed  to  be  thought  of,  either  in  or  out  of  the 
senate,  except  the  bridge.  Mr.  C.  was  a  stranger;  but  he 
immediately  found  himself  surrounded  by  the  citizens  of 
Georgetown,  who  made  him  the  object  of  their  warmest 
and  most  unremitted  caresses.  The  motive  which  prompt- 
ed their  peculiar  attentions,  could  not  be  unknown  to  him; 
but  no  allusion  was  made  to  it.  Up  to  the  time  when  the 
vote  on  the  bridge  bill  was  about  to  be  taken,  he  had  not 
given  the  slightest  intimation  of  his  opinions  upon  the 
subject.  His  first  speech  was  upon  that  bill — an  eloquent 
and  much-praised  effort,  wherein  he  gave  a  powerful  and 
triumphant  vindication  of  the  policy  of  authorizing  the 
erection  of  the  bridge.  His  speech  was  of  far  more  value 
than  his  single  vote,  for  he  carried  with  him  a  majority  of 
the  members  of  the  senate — all,  in  fact,  who  were  not  so 
far  pledged  by  the  assurances  they  had  given  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Georgetown,  as  to  feel  that  they  had  no  longer  the 
right  of  deciding  for  themselves.  It  must  be  gratifying  to 
the  friends  of  Mr.  Clay,  to  note,  in  the  progress  of  his  his- 
tory, the  successive  proofs  that  are  constantly  presented, 
of  his  undeviating  consistency.  Here,  we  see,  that  his 
first  effort  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  was  in 
favour  of  a  branch  of  Internal  Improvements — a  system 
of  policy,  which  owes  more  to  his  exertions  than  to  those 
of  any  other  man  living;  and  which,  unless  checked  by 
the  pusillanimity  or  wickedness  of  men  in  power,  will  ul- 
timately advance  the  prosperity  of  our  country,  to  a  de- 


HENRY    CLAY.  37 

gree  hitherto  unattained,  and  almost  undreamed  of,  by  the 
mightiest  nations  of  the  old  world.  Mr.  Clay's  speech 
upon  the  bill,  for  a  bridge  over  the  Potomac,  was  never  re- 
ported, but  he  is  said  to  have  alluded,  with  great  causti- 
city and  effect,  to  certain  gentlemen,  who  had  made  an  in- 
temperate opposition  to  the  bill.  Mr.  Tracy,  a  senator 
from  Connecticut,  whose  looks  were  sometimes  more  sage 
than  his  words,  had  delivered  a  haughty  and  insolent 
speech,  reflecting,  with  unprovoked  and  unpardonable  se- 
verity, upon  the  younger  members  of  the  senate,  and  ma- 
king a  parade  of  extraordinary  knowledge  upon  the  ques- 
tion in  debate.  In  hitting  off  the  wise  and  knowing  look 
with  which  he  seemed  to  inspect  the  subject,  Mr.  Clay 
quoted,  to  the  infinite  merriment  of  the  senate,  the  ludi- 
crous simile  of  Peter  Pindar's  magpie: 

"  Thus  have  I  seen  a  magpie  in  the  street, 
"  A  chattering  bird,  we  often  meet ; 
"A  bird  for  curiosity  well  known, 

"  With  head  awry, 

"  And  cunning  eye 
"  Peep  knowingly  into  a  marrow-bone." 

So  great  was  Mr.  Tracy's  mortification  at  finding  himself 
thus  roughly  handled  by  a  young,  and  comparatively  un- 
known member,  that  his  lips  were  hermetically  sealed  du- 
ring a  great  part  of  the  remainder  of  the  session. 

The  most  important  question  that  was  discussed  in  the 
senate,  during  this  congressional  session,  related  to  the 
suspension  of  the  act  of  habeas  corpus.  The  suspension 
was  moved  in  order  to  give  the  executive  the  power  of  ar- 
resting Colonel  Burr,  if  necessary,  and  keeping  him  in 
confinement,  without  being  delayed  by  the  dilatory  opera- 
tions of  law.  On  this  subject  Mr.  Clay  did  not  speak. 
Having  recently  been  Colonel  Burr's  counsel,  he  deemed 
4 


38  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

it  unadvisablc  to  take  part  in  the  discussion,  and  content- 
ed himself  with  giving  his  vote  against  the  motion  before 
the  senate.  The  majority  were  opposed  to  him,  and  the 
suspension  of  the  law  was  voted  with'  great  unanimity. 
Fortunateljr,  however,  the  bill  was  lost  in  the  lower  house. 
The  opposition  that  was  made  to  it  by  the  minority  in  the 
senate,  did  not  result  from  any  sympathy  or  respect  for 
Aaron  Burr,  the  depravity  of  whose  character  was  now 
generally  acknowledged,  but  from  a  patriotic  regard  for 
the  supremacy  of  the  laws.  The  law  of  habeas  corpus 
is  the  ark  of  American  liberty,  and  violent  hands  ought 
not  to  be  laid  upon  it,  in  every  slight  or  imaginary  emer- 
gency. Though  it  may  sometimes  afford  a  temporary 
shelter  to  the  guilty,  we  ought  not,  on  that  account,  to 
endanger  the  rights  of  the  innocent,  to  whom  it  is  a  con- 
stant protection.  We  rejoice  that  the  law  in  question  has 
never  been  suspended  in  the  whole  history  of  the_govern- 
ment.  Its  operations  have  been  two  or  three  times  resist- 
ed by  military  chieftains,  who  fancied  that  measures  thus 
arbitrary  were  demanded  by  the  peculiar  exigencies  in 
\yhich  they  were  placed  ;  but  their  conduct  has  already 
been  the  subject  of  protracted  public  discussions,  and  we 
would  add  nothing  to  what  has  been  said  of  it. 

In  the  summer  of  1807,  Mr.  Clay's  term  of  service  in 
the  United  States  Senate  having  expired,  he  was  again 
placed  before  the  citizens  of  Fayette,  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Kentucky  legislature.  Under  ordinary  circumstances, 
no  aspirant  would  have  dared  to  enter  the  lists  with  him ; 
but  the  fact  of  his  having  been  the  attorney  of  Colonel 
Burr,  gave  courage  to  the  federalists,  and  emboldened 
them  to  bring  out  a  candidate  in  opposition  to  him.  Their 
whole  hope  of  success  depended  on  exciting  against  Mr. 
Clay  a  portion  of  the  indignation  that  existed  against 
Burr.  The  attempt  was  worse  than  futile.  The  shame- 


HENRY    CLAY.  39 

less  calunnry  fell  crumbling  from  his  name,  like  filth 
thrown  by  the  hands  of  a  clown  against  the  pillars  of  a 
magnificent  edifice.  When  the  electors  had  assembled,  he 
stood  proudly  up  among  them,  and  addressed  them  on  the 
subject  of  his  intercourse  with  Burr.  His  election  was 
carried  by  a  majority,  which  even  he  himself  had  never 
before  received.  After  the  delivery  of  his  address,  it 
would  have  been  dangerous  for  any  man  to  reiterate  the 
lying  charge  against  him.  The  people  would  not  have 
endured  it.  As  soon  would  they  have  suffered  their  fa- 
vourite "  Commoner"  to  be  charged  with  the  crimes  of  all 
the  individuals  whom,  in  the  course  of  his  practice,  he 
had  consented  to  defend. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  next  session  of  the  general  assem- 
bly, Mr.  Clay  was  chosen  speaker,  by  a  large  majority, 
over  a  very  popular  rival.  The  duties  of  this  office  he 
discharged  with  the  same  fidelity  and  skill  for  which  he 
was  afterwards  distinguished,  while  holding  a  similar  of- 
fice in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  Occasionally, 
too,  he  came  down  from  his  place,  and  took  part  in  the 
fierce  grapple  of  mind  with  mind.  It  was  his  good  for- 
tune, in  the  course  of  the  session,  to  prevent  the  whole 
system  of  the  common  law  from  being  annihilated  in  the  x 
courts  of  Kentucky.  A  motion  was  made  to  prohibit  the 
reading  in  court  of  any  British  decision,  or  elementar}' 
work  on  law.  This  motion  was  strongly  supported  by 
argument ;  and  more  than  four  fifths  of  the  members  of 
the  house  evinced  a  determination  to  vote  in  favour  of  it. 
Aside  from  other  objections  against  the  common  law,  it 
was  argued,  that  the  Americans,  as  an  independent  peo- 
ple, ought  not  to  suffer  themselves  to  be  governed,  in  the 
administration  of  justice,  by  the  legal  decisions  of  a  fo- 
reign power.  To  obviate  this  consideration,  Mr.  Clay 
jnoved  to  amend  the  resolution  before  the  house,  by  limit.- 


40  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

ing  the  exclusion  of  British  decisions  from  Kentucky,  to 
those  only  which  have  taken  place  since  the  fourth  of 
July,  1776,  the  date  of  American  independence,  and  suf- 
fering all,  which  preceded  that  period,  to  remain  still  in 
force.  His  reasons  for  this  amendment  were  conclusive. 
Previous  to  the  declaration  of  our  independence,  the  Bri- 
tish and  Americans  were  the  same  nation  ;  and  the  laws 
of  the  one  people  were  those  of  the  other.  After  a  long 
and  spirited  contest,  Mr.  Clay  prevailed.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  original  popularity  of  the  resolution  which  he 
opposed,  it  was  lost,  and  his  amendment  adopted  by  a 
vote  almost  unanimous;  and,  consequently,  the  binding 
authority  of  the  great  body  of  the  common  law  still  con- 
tinued to  be  acknowledged.  This  effort  of  Mr.  Clay  has 
justly  been  considered  by  himself  and  his  friends  as  one  of 
the  greatest  intellectual  achievements  of  his  life.  The 
prejudices  of  the  multitude  against  the  common  law  are 
almost  universal ;  and,  at  the  time  of  which  we  have  spo- 
ken, they  existed  in  the  Kentucky  legislature  in  all  their 
strength.  The  common  people  have  heard,  that  this  law, 
consisting,  as  it  does,  of  all  the  reported  decisions  of  the 
British  courts,  fills  hundreds  of  volumes,  and  they  do  not 
readily  comprehend  how  the  men  of  the  present  clay  can 
become  acquainted  with  it,  and,  much  less,  give  it  a  practi- 
cal application  in  this  country.  They  are  apt  to  look 
upon  it  as  a  mere  shapeless  mass  of  incongruities  and  ab- 
surdities, that  has  been  accumulating  for  years  and  centu- 
ries. They  imagine  that  it  is  half  made  up  of  frivolous 
precepts,  and  ludicrous  distinctions,  which  have  no  better 
effect  than  to  set  common  sense  and  common  justice  at 
naught,  by  the  conviction  of  the  innocent,  and  the  dis- 
charge of  the  guilty.  They  are  not  aware  that  the  com- 
mon law  is  the  embodied  wisdom  of  ages,  and  that,  al- 
though it  may  appear  irregular  at  first  view,  it  v>  ill  be 


HENRY    CLAY.  41 

seen,  when  viewed  in  the  light  of  a  few  plain  principles, 
to  be  a  system  of  unrivalled  symmetry,  beauty,  and  mag- 
nificence. They  do  not  know,  that  its  fundamental  rules 
are  so  simple  and  well  established,  that  the  most  unletter- 
ed can  readily  learn  them,  but  suppose,  that  the  whole  sys- 
tem, ancient  and  mighty  as  it  is,  might  advantageously 
give  place  to  a  few  hasty  statutes  devised  by  the  discord- 
ant spirits  of  a  state  legislature.  It  was  against  such  pre- 
judices and  such  misapprehensions,  that  Mr.  Clay  was 
obliged  to  contend,  and  he  did  it  with  a  power  of  argu- 
ment and  eloquence,  that  almost  surprised  himself.  He 
did  not  "  check  his  strength  in  mid  volley" — the  whole 
was  put  forth,  for  the  time  demanded  it.  In  portraying 
that  spirit  of-  vandalism,  which  mocks  at  the  wisdom  of 
the  "  world's  gray  fathers,"  and  would  wantonly  make 
wreck  of  a  system  fraught  with  the  intellectual  wealth  of 
centuries,  and  whelm  its  last  fragment  beneath  the  wave, 
Mr.  C.  was  great  beyond  expression.  A  gentleman,  who 
was  in  the  lobby  of  the  house,  and  who  has  since  risen  to 
distinction,  has  averred,  that  all  his  subsequent  ideas  of 
perfect  eloquence  have  been  formed  upon  that  one  model. 
It  surpassed  any  thing  which  he  has  since  heard  or  had 
before  conceived.  Every  muscle  of  the  orator's  face  was 
at  work,  his  whole  body  seemed  agitated,  as  if  each  part 
were  instinct  with  a  separate  life,  and  his  small  white 
hand,  with  its  blue  veins  apparently  distended  almost  to 
bursting,  moved  gracefully,  but  with  all  the  energy  of 
rapid  and  vehement  gesture.  The  appearance  of  the 
speaker  seemed  that  of  a  pure  intellect  wrought  up  to  its 
mightiest  energies,  and  brightly  glowing  through  the  thin 
and  transparent  veil  of  flesh  that  enrobed  it.  Our  inform- 
ant represents  himself  as  having  gazed  upon  the  orator,  and 
listened  to  his  moving  and  impetuous  eloquence,  till  he 
half  lost  his  sense  of  individual  existence,  and,  on  the  first 
4* 


42  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

return  of  perfect  consciousness,  he  found  that  tears,  in 
spite  of  his  manhood,  were  streaming  down  his  cheeks. 
Ashamed  of  his  weakness,  and  unaware  that  nearly  the 
whole  audience  was  in  the  same  situation  with  himself, 
he  dried  his  tears,  and,  with  feelings  partially  indurated 
by  resolution,  again  gave  his  attention  to  the  speaker.  In 
a  few  moments,  he  found  that  the  waters  of  emotion  had 
gushed  out  anew  from  their  fountain,  and  he  now  suffered 
them  to  flow  uncontrolled,  for  he  saw  that  he  wept  not 
alone.  This  great  effort  of  Mr.  Clay  was  materially  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  more  modern  date.  It  was  probably 
accompanied  by  a  degree  of  physical  exertion,  which,  in 
his  recent  condition  of  bodily  debility,  he  would  have  been 
unable  to  endure  even  for  a  short  period  of  time. 

In  the  year  1808,  Humphrey  Marshall,  a  gentleman  of 
whom  we  have  already  made  mention,  became  a  member 
of  the  legislature  of  Kentucky.  He  was,  at  that  time,  a 
man  of  strong  mind  and  extensive  information,  but  a  bit- 
ter federalist,  and  an  unwe^/ied  opponent  of  Mr.  Clay. 
Mr.  Marshall  had  repeatedly  assailed  Mr.  C.  and  his 
friends  in  the  newspapers,  and,  as  a  natural  consequence, 
their  political  hostility  was  turned  to  personal  hatred. 
Both  now  being  members  of  the  legislature,  there  appear- 
ed to  be  a  willingness  on  the  part  of  the  other  members, 
to  bring  them  into  direct  collision.  To  this  end,  several 
gentlemen  declined  voting  for  Mr.  C.'s  reappointment  to 
the  office  of  speaker,  knowing  that,  if  he  were  in  the 
speaker's  chair,  he  would  not  have  an  opportunity  of  meet- 
ing his  antagonist  without  restraint.  During  the  first 
weeks  of  the  session,  Clay  and  Marshall  frequently  met 
each  other  in  debate,  and  the  former  was  uniformly  victo- 
rious, being,  in  fact,  incomparably  superior,  in  all  respects, 
to  his  antagonist.  At  length,  Mr.  C.  brought  a  resolution 
before  the  house,  that  each  member,  for  the  purpose  of  en- 


HENRY    CLAV.  43 

eouraging  the  industry  of  the  country,  should  clothe  him- 
self in  garments  of  domestick  manufacture.  This  resolu- 
tion called  into  exercise  all  Mr.  Marshall's  talents  of  vitu- 
peration. He  denounced  it  as  the  project  of  a  demagogue, 
and  applied  a  variety  of  epithets  to  its  author,  which  no 
parliamentary  rules  could  justify.  Mr.  Clay's  language 
in  reply,  was  probably  of  a  harsh  character,  and  the  quar- 
rel proceeded  from  one  stage  to  another,  till,  according  to 
the  laws  of  honour,  which  every  Kentuckian  of  that  day 
was  taught  to  reverence,  no  alternative  remained  to  Mr. 
Clay,  and  he  was  required  to  challenge  his  antagonist. 
The  challenge  was  accepted.  The  parties  met,  and  the 
rirst  shot  was  exchanged  without  other  effect  than  a  slight 
wound  to  Mr.  Marshall.  On  the  second  or  third  trial, 
Mr.  Marshall's  ball  gave  Mr.  Clay  a  slight  flesh-wound 
in  the  leg,  and  the  seconds  now  interfered,  and  prevented 
a  continuance  of  the  combat.  It  is  the  legitimate  province 
of  the  biographer  to  state  facts,  and  not  to  apologize  for 
error.  We  believe  that  duelling,  in  all  its  forms,  should  be 
reprobated.  .  We  have  no  doubt,  that  Mr.  Clay  erred  in 
this  affair  with  Mr.  Marshall,  and  it  is  said,  that,  he  him- 
self looks  back  to  the  incident  with  disapprobation  and 
regret ;  but  to  Mr.  C.'s  admirers,  there  is  much  consola- 
tion in  the  fact,  that  the  quarrel  which  led  to  the  catas- 
trophe, had  its  origin  in  his  devotion  to  the  policy  of  en- 
couraging domestick  manufactures — a  policy  which, 
through  the  influence  of  his  subsequent  exertions,  has 
done  so  much  for  the  prosperity  of  the  nation.  Of  his  per- 
sonal courage,  no  one  ever  entertained  a  doubt.  It  is  said 
of  him,  that  the  eye  with  which  he  meets  an  opponent  in 
debate,  is  not  more  unquailing  than  that  with  which  he 
gives  back  the  glance  of  a  foe  in  the  field  of  single  com- 
bat. His  is  a  spirit  that  knows  not  to  bow  down  or  trem- 


44  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

ble  in  the  presence  of  an  enemy,  whatever  may  be  the 
character  under  which  that  enemy  presents  himself. 

A  measure  which  Mr.  C.  carried  through  the  house  of 
representatives,  in  1809,  is  deserving  of  particular  notice, 
on  account  of  the  important  principle  involved  in  it.  At 
the  August  election,  the  citizens  of  Hardin  county,  who 
were  entitled  to  two  representatives  in  the  general  assem- 
bly, had  given  436  votes  for  Charles  Helm,  350  for  Samuel 
Haycraft,  and  271  for  John  Thomas.  Mr.  Hay  craft,  at 
the  time  of  the  election,  was  an  assistant  judge  of  the 
circuit  court  of  Hardin,  and  he  did  not  resign  the  office 
till  some  weeks  afterward.  The  26th  section  of  the  se 
cond  article  of  the  Kentucky  constitution  provides,  that 
those  who  hold  or  exercise  any  office  of  profit  under  the 
commonwealth,  shall  be  ineligible  to  a  seat  in  the  general 
assembly.  Under  these  circumstances,  Mr.  Clay  moved 
to  inquire,  whether  Mr.  Haycraft  was  entitled  to  a  seat, 
and,  if  not,  whether  Mr.  Thomas  was  entitled  to  it.  The 
case  was  not  unlike  that  of  Mr.  Wilkes,  which  excited 
much  discussion  in  England  in  the  days  of  Junius.  The 
latter  case  is  perhaps  familiar  to  the  public.  Mr.  Wilkes, 
a  member  of  the  house  of  commons,  having  become  ob- 
noxious to  the  ministerial  party,  was  expelled  from  the 
house  for  causes  which  were  considered  as  constituting  a 
disqualification  for  a  seat.  In  spite  of  this  decision  of  the 
house,  the  citizens  of  Westminster  determined  to  re-elect 
him.  The  ministry,  on  learning  this  determination,  se- 
cretly procured  a  candidate  to  be  put  up  in  opposition  to 
him.  A  few  votes  were  given  for  the  opposition  candi- 
date, but  Mr.  Wilkes  was  re-elected  by  a  great  majority. 
When,  however,  Mr.  W.  again  presented  himself  before 
the  house,  his  case  came  up  for  consideration,  and  the 
ministerial  party,  who  constituted  a  majority  of  the  com- 
mons, decided  that,  inasmuch  as  he  was  ineligible  at  the 


HENRY   CLAY.  45 

time  of  the  election,  the  votes  that  had  been  given  for  him 
were  void  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  and  could  neither 
entitle  him  to  a  seat,  nor  affect  the  votes  given  for  the 
opposing  candidate.  By  this  decision,  they  not  only  ex- 
cluded Mr.  Wilkes  from  the  commons,  but  gave  his  place 
to  his  competitor.  In  the  analogous  case,  to  which  we 
have  alluded,  as  having  occurred  in  the  Kentucky  legis- 
lature, Mr.  Clay,  who  had  instituted  the  investigation,  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  appointed  to  make  a  report. 
This  report  we  have  found  among  the  legislative  records 
at  Frankfort,  and  the  principles  it  contains  are  so  sound, 
and  of  such  universal  application,  that  we  have  thought 
proper  to  make  an  extract  from  it.  It  was  drawn  up  by 
Mr.  C.,  and  adopted  unanimously,  and  its  doctrines  have, 
ever  since,  governed  the  Kentucky  elections.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  most  important  parts  of  the  report. 
s*"*<  The  principle  of  separating,  and  preserving  distinct, 
the  great  powers  of  government,  ought  rather  to  be  en- 
larged than  circumscribed.  But  this  case  is  not  one  in 
which  we  have  to  resort  to  construction.  On  the  contra- 
ry, we  have  clear  and  explicit  injunctions  to  guide  us. 
The  fact  being  ascertained,  that  Mr.  Haycraft  held  an  of- 
fice of  profit  under  the  commonwealth,  at  the  time  of  the 
election,  the  constitutional  disqualification  attaches  and 
excludes  him — he  was  ineligible,  and  therefore  cannot  be 
entitled  to  his  seat." 

"  It  remains  to  inquire  into  the  pretensions  of  Mr. 
Thomas.  His  claim  can  only  be  supported  by  a  total  re- 
jection of  the  votes  given  to  Mr.  Haycraft,  as  void  to  all 
intents  whatever.  It  is  not  pretended,  that  they  were 
given  by  persons  not  qualified  according  to  the  constitu- 
tion; and  consequently,  if  rejected,  it  must  be,  not  for 
any  inherent  objection  in  themselves,  but  because  they  here 
been  bestowed  in  a  manner  forbidden  by  the  constitution 


46  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

or  laws.  By  an  act  passed  18th  December,  1800,  it  is  re^ 
quired,  that  persons  holding  offices  incompatible  with  rx 
seat  in  the  legislature,  shall  resign  them  before  they  are 
voted  for ;  and  it  is  provided,  that  all  votes  given  to  any 
such  person,  prior  to  such  resignation,  shall  be  utterly  void." 

"  This  act,  when  applied  to  the  case  in  question,  per- 
haps admits  of  the  construction,  that  the  votes  given  to 
Mr.  Haycraft,  though  void  and  ineffectual  in  creating  any 
right  in  him  to  a  seat  in  this  house,  cannot  affect,  in  any 
manner,  the  situation  of  his  competitor.  Any  other  expo- 
sition of  it  is,  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  wholly  in- 
consistent with  the  constitution,  and  would  be  extremely 
dangerous  in  practice.  It  would  be  subversive  of  the 
great  principle  of  free  government,  that  the  majority  shall 
prevail.  It  would  operate  as  a  deception  of  the  people ; 
for  it  cannot  be  doubted,  that  the  votes  given  to  Mr.  Hay- 
craft,  were  bestowed  upon  a  full  persuasion,  that  he  had  a 
right  to  receive  them.  And  it  would  infringe  the  right  of 
this  house,  guaranteed  by  the  constitution,  to  judge  of  the 
qualifications  of  its  members.  It  would,  in  fact,  be  a  de- 
claration, that  disqualification  produces  qualification — that 
the  incapacity  of  one  man  capacitates  another  to  hold  a 
seat  in  this  house.  Your  committee  are,  therefore,  unani- 
mously and  decidedly  of  opinion,  that  neither  of  the  gen- 
tlemen is  entitled  to  a  seat." 

Mr.  Thruston,  who  was  chosen  a  United  States'  sena- 
tor in  1804,  had  now  resigned  his  seat,  leaving  his  con- 
stituents to  appoint  some  other  gentleman  to  serve  out  the 
two  last  years  of  his  term.  Mr.  Clay  was,  in  all  respects, 
the  most  prominent  candidate.  The  members  of  the  legis- 
lature were  so  well  pleased  with  the  ability  which  he  had 
displayed  in  the  senate  in  1807,  as  well  as  in  their  own 
body  during  the  last  six  years,  that  they  gave  him  the 
seat  of  Mr.  Thruston,  by  a  vote  of  two  to  one.  Here  hia 


HENRY  CLAY.  47 

services  in  the  legislature  ceased — he  was  never  afterwards 
a  member  of  it.  His  whole  career,  while  connected  with 
that  body,  had  been  one  continued  train  of  brilliancy. 
While  reviewing  the  records,  we  have  been  surprised,  that 
a  single  mind  should  have  been  capable  of  accomplishing 
so  much.  He  appears  to  have  been  the  one  pervading 
spirit  of  the  whole  bodj^.  He  never  came  to  the  debates 
but  with  the  knowledge  necessary  to  a  perfect  elucidation 
of  his  subject,  and  he  always  had  the  power  of  making  his 
knowledge  so  practical,  and  lighting  it  so  brightly  up  with 
the  fire  of  eloquence  and  the  living  soul  of  intellect,  that 
without  resorting  to  the  arts  of  insidiousness,  he  could  ge- 
nerally control  the  movements  of  the  legislature  at  will. 
His  was  not  an  undue  influence — it  was  the  simple  as- 
cendancy of  mind  over  mind.  The  bills,  which  origina- 
ted with  him,  instead  of  being  characterised  by  the  eccen- 
tricities and  ambitious  innovations,  which  are  too  often 
visible  in  the  career  of  young  men  of  genius  suddenly 
elevated  to  power  and  influence,  were  remarkable  only  for 
their  plain  common  sense,  and  their  tendency  to  advance 
the  substantial  interests  of  the  state.  Though  he  carried 
his  plans  into  effect  by  the  aid  of  the  magical  incantations 
of  the  orator,  he  always  conceived  them  with  the  coolness 
and  discretion  of  a  philosopher.  No  subject  was  so  great 
as  to  baffle  his  powers — none  so  minute  as  to  elude  them.  He 
could  handle  the  telescope  and  the  microscope  with  equal 
skill.  In  him  the  haughty  demagogues  of  the  legislature 
found  an  antagonist,  who  never  failed  to  foil  them  in  their 
bold  projects,  and  the  intriguers  of  lower  degree  were  baffled 
with  equal  certainty,  whenever  they  attempted  to  get  any 
petty  measure  through  the  house,  for  their  own  personal 
gratification,  or  that  of  their  friends.  The  people,  there- 
fore, justly  regarded  him  as  emphatically  their  own. 


BIOGRAPHY    OP 


SECTION  THIRD. 

MR.  CLAY  took  his  seat,  for  the  second  time,  in  the 
senate  of  the  United  States,  in  the  winter  of  1809 — 10. 
His  first  speech  at  Washington  in  1807,  it  will  be  recol- 
lected, was  in  support  of  a  measure  involving  the  princi- 
ple of  internal  improvements — and  his  first  effort  at  the 
present  time  was  in  favour  of  the  encouragement  of  do- 
mestick  manufactures,  a  policy  which  he  had  previously 
supported  in  the  legislature  of  his  own  state.  The  pros- 
perity of  these  two  systems  of  policy  has  become  so  entire- 
ly identified  with  his  name  and  influence,  that  his  fellow- 
litizens  will  be  gratified  to  learn  the  early  date,  at  which 

expressed  his  devotion  to  them. 

At  the  period  of  which  we  are  speaking,  impost  duties 
can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  ever  been  laid  upon  articles 
of  foreign  growth  and  manufacture,  for  any  other  purpose 
than  that  of  raising  a  revenue.  There  was  now,  however, 
a  prospect  of  war  with  Great  Britain,  and,  of  course,  our 
statesmen  began  to  anticipate  the  possibility  of  our  being 
partially  thrown  upon  our  own  resources  for  the  produc- 
tion of  those  articles  which  we  had  been  accustomed  to 
receive  from  British  ports.  In  this  condition  of  things,  a 
bill  to  appropriate  a  sum  of  money  for  procuring  supplies 
^  of  cordage,  sail-clolh,  and  other  munitions  of  war,  came 
before  the  senate,  and  an  amendment  was  proposed,  that 
preference  should  be  given  to  articles  of  American  growth 
and  manufacture,  whenever  it  could  be  done  without  ma- 
terial detriment  to  the  public  service.  A  senator  from 
Massachusetts  made  a  strong  opposition  to  the  amendment, 
and,  in  the  remarks  that  followed,  the  general  policy  of 
fostering  manufactures  in  this  country  became  the  main 


HENRY   CLAY.  49 

topic  of  discussion.  The  system  being  new,  and  its  ef- 
fects not  having  been  practically  developed  among  us,  its 
friends  and  enemies  could  meet  each  other  only  by  rea- 
soning from  first  principles,  and  pointing  out  the  conse- 
quences to  which  itf  had  led  in  other  countries.  Those 
members  of  the  senate  who  were  opposed  to  domestick 
manufactures,  drew  a  dark  and  revolting  picture  of  the 
squalidity  and  wretchedness  of  the  inhabitants  of  Man- 
chester, Birmingham,  and  the  other  manufacturing  cities  of 
Great  Britain,  and  argued,  that  the  introduction  of  the 
system  of  manufactures  into  this  country  would  be  attend- 
ed with  similar  consequences.  In  reply  to  this  considera- 
tion, Mr.  Clay  designated,  with  great  force  and  clearness, 
what  ought  to  be  the  policy  of  the  United  States.  Great 
Britain,  he  justly  remarked,  has  been  the  manufacturer  of 
a  large  portion  of  the  world.  If,  in  this  respect,  we  were 
to  follow  her  example,  our  manufacturing  districts  would 
exhibit,  in  process  of  time,  the  same  appearance  as  hers ; 
but,  Mr.  Clay  contended,  that,  if  we  were  to  limit  our  ef- 
forts by  our  own  wants,  the  evils  which  were  apprehended 
would  be  found  wholly  chimerical.  Agriculture  he  ac- 
knowledged to  be  the  first  and  greatest  source  of  national 
wealth  and  happiness.  He  expressed  a  desire,  that  the 
exports  of  the  country  might  continue  to  be  the  surplus 
productions  of  tillage,  and  not  of  manufacturing  establish- 
ments— he  did  not  wish  that  the  plough-share  and  the 
sickle  should  be  converted  into  the  spindle  and  the  shut- 
tle— but  he  held  it  desirable,  that  we  should  furnish  our- 
selves with  clothing  made  by  our  own  industry,  and  no 
longer  be  dependant,  for  our  very  coats,  upon  a  country 
which  was  then  an  envious  rival,  and  might  soon  be  an 
enemy.  "  A  judicious  American  farmer,  in  the  household 
way,"  said  he,  "  manufactures  whatever  is  requisite  for 
his  family.  He  squanders  but  little  in  the  gewgaws  of 
5 


50  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

Europe.  He  presents  in  epitome  what  the  nation  ought 
to  be  in  extenso.  Their  manufactures  should  bear  the 
same  proportion,  and  effect  the  same  object  in  relation  to 
the  whole  community,  which  the  part  of  his  household, 
employed  in  domestick  manufacturing,  bears  to  the  whole 
family." 

Mr.  Clay  thought,  and  justly  too,  that  whatever  doubt 
might  be  entertained  as  to  the  general  policy  of  encoura- 
ging domestick  manufactures  by  bounties  or  impost  duties, 
none  could  possibly  exist,  in  any  candid  and  rational  mind, 
with  regard  to  the  propriety  of  adopting  the  requisite  mea- 
sures for  producing  among  ourselves  such  articles  as  are 
indispensable  in  time  of  war.  His  arguments  on  this 
point  need  no  recapitulation.  His  speech  contained  scarce 
a  single  effort  at  eloquence — it  was  distinguished  exclu- 
sively by  clear,  profound,  and  philosophical  views  of  na- 
tional policy,  set  forth  strongly  and  dispassionately. 
Nor  did  it  fall  to  the  ground.  The  bill,  as  advocated  by 
him,  passed  the  senate,  and  its  beneficial  effects  soon  be- 
came evident.  The  officers  of  government  succeeded  in 
making  advantageous  contracts,  for  the  munitions  of  war, 
with  the  capitalists  of  the  United  States,  and,  although  in 
the  contest  that  soon  followed,  the  nation's  resources  were 
unequal  to  its  wants,  we  were  saved  from  that  state  of  ut- 
ter deprivation,  to  which  we  should  have  been  subjected, 
had  our  reliance  been  exclusively  on  foreign  countries. 
The  system  of  home  manufactures  was  here  nurtured  into 
life,  and  it  has  since  flourished  in  beauty  and  strength,  and 
myriads  of  happy  and  industrious  freemen  are  now  rejoicing 
in  its  grateful  influence. 

In  the  course  of  the  same  year,  1810,  a  question  was 
brought  before  the  senate  upon  the  subject  of  the  claims 
of  the  United  States  to  the  territory  lying  between  the 
riven  Mississippi  and  Perdido,  and  comprising  the  greater 


HENRY   CLAY.  51 

part  of  West  Florida.  The  question  came  up  in  this  way. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  territory,  particularly  in  the  dis- 
tricts of  Baton  Rouge  and  Feliciana,  had  revolted  against 
the  Spanish  authority,  which  was  nominally  exercised 
over  them.  It  was  reported,  too,  that  emissaries  of  the 
king  of  England  were  among  the  people,  intriguing  with 
the  view  of  inducing  them  to  come  under  British  domina- 
tion, and  a  thousand  circumstances  gave  evidence,  that,  if 
nothing  were  done  on  the  part  of  our  government,  the  dis- 
affected citizens  of  Baton  Rouge  and  its  adjacent  districts 
would  either  declare  themselves  independent,  or  accede  to 
the  proposals  of  the  British  agents — thus  giving  a  power- 
ful nation  a  place  upon  our  very  borders.  In  this  emergen- 
cy, Mr.  Madison,  then  president  of  the  United  States,  is- 
sued his  proclamation,  declaring  West  Florida  annexed  to 
the  Orleans  territory,  and  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  United 
States.  This  was,  in  fact,  taking  possession  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  question  consequently  arose  in  congress, 
whether  Mr.  Madison  had  acted  within  his  legitimate  au- 
thority. This  question  involved  the  title  to  the  land  in 
dispute.  The  federal  party,  who  constituted  the  opposi- 
tion to  Mr.  M.'s  administration,  contended,  that  the  terri- 
tory belonged  to  Spain,  and  Mr.  Clay  argued,  at  great 
length,- that  the  title  was  clearly  in  the  United  States. 

This  speech  of  Mr.  C.  is  one  of  the  best  specimens  of 
close  investigation,  and  severe,  unadorned  argument,  that 
can  be  found  in  the  annals  of  any  parliamentary  body.  It 
must  have  required  the  most  rigorous  attention  on  the  part 
of  the  senate,  to  follow  him  in  his  demonstrations  and  in- 
ferences. He  went  into  a  minute  history  of  the  disputed 
territory,  applied  the  law  of  nations  to  the  circumstances 
of  its  discovery  and  settlement,  noted  each  legal  transfer 
from  power  to  power,  and  shewed,  that  it  belonged  origi- 
nally to  the  French,  who  ceded  it  to  Spain  in  1762,  that 


52  BIOGRAPHY   OP 

Spain  made  a  retrocession  of  it  to  France  in  1800  by  the 
treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso,  and  that  the  United  States  pur- 
chased it  from  the  French  government  as  a  part  of  Louisia- 
na in  1803.  Having  shewn  an  indisputable  title  in  the 
United  States  to  the  territory  of  West  Florida,  he  proceed- 
ed to  recite  an  act  of  congress  passed  in  1803,  whereby 
the  president  was  expressly  empowered  to  occupy  the  lands 
ceded  to  us  by  France,  and  establish  a  provisional  govern- 
ment over  them. 

Mr.  Clay  justified  Mr.  Madison  by  other  considerations. 
Even  supposing  that  to  be  true,  which  he  had  proved  un- 
true— admitting  the  claim  of  the  opposition,  that  the  title 
of  West  Florida  had  never  passed  out  of  the  hands  of 
Spain,  he  contended,  that,  under  the  circumstances  which 
existed  in  1810,  the  United  States  government  had  still  a 
right  to  take  possession  of  it.  The  reason  was  obvious. 
Whether  Spain  did  or  did  not  retain  the  legal  title  to  the 
territoiy,  one  point  was  sufficiently  clear,  she  had  not  the 
power  to  make  the  inhabitants  submit  to  her  authority. 
She  was,  at  that  time,  pressed  on  all  sides  by. a  powerful 
enemy,  whom  it  required  her  concentrated  energies  to 
withstand.  She  could  no  more  quell  the  distractions  and 
the  anarchy  that  prevailed  throughout  a  portion  of  West 
Florida,  than  she  could  rule  the  whirlwind.  If  Britain, 
or  some  other  nation  disposed  to  injure  us,  should  take  ad- 
vantage of  these  circumstances,  and  obtain  a  foothold  upon 
our  southern  frontier,  she  would  have  the  power  to  annoy 
us  in  the  exercise  of  our  rights,  and  endanger  the  very  ex- 
istence of  our  union.  The  commerce  of  the  whole  extent 
of  country,  that  is  drained  by  the  Mississippi  and  its  tribu- 
taries— an  extent  comprising  three  fourths  of  the  whole  ter- 
ritory of  the  United  States — would  be  at  the  enemy's  mer- 
cy. The  possession  of  West  Florida — that  part  of  it  es- 
pecially between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Perdido — he 


HENRY    CLAY.  53 

showed  to  be  indispensable  to  the  free  navigation  of  those 
streams.  It  was  the  lever  by  which  nearly  the  whole  con- 
tinent of  North  America  might  be  shaken.  Thus  situated, 
Mr.  C.  claimed,  that,  upon  the  eternal  principle  of  self- 
preservation — a  principle  that  knows  no  limitation  to  time 
or  place — we  had  a  right  to  extend  our  laws  over  the  dis- 
puted territory. 

The  opposition  suggested,  that  Great  Britain  was  the 
ally  of  Spain,  and  might  feel  herself  obliged,  by  her  con- 
nexion with  that  country,  to  take  part  with  her  against  us, 
and  to  consider  the  proclamation  of  our  president  as  justi- 
fying an  appeal  to  arms.  "  Sir,"  said  Mr.  Clay,  "is  the 
time  never  to  arrive,  when  we  may  manage  our  own  af- 
fairs, without  the  fear  of  insulting  his  Britannic  majesty  ? 
Is  the  rod  of  British  power  to  be  forever  suspended  over 
our  heads  ?  Does  congress  put  on  an  embargo  to  shelter 
our  rightful  commerce  against  the  piratical  depredations 
committed  upon  it  on  the  ocean?  We  are  immediately 
warned  of  the  indignation  of  oifended  England.  Is  a  law 
of  non-intercourse  proposed  ?  The  whole  navy  of  the 
haughty  mistress  of  the  seas  is  made  to  thunder  in  our 
ears.  Does  the  president  refuse  to  continue  a  correspond- 
ence with  a  minister,  who  violates  the  decorum  belonging 
to  his  diplomatic  character,  by  giving  and  deliberately  re- 
peating an  affront  to  the  whole  nation  ?  We  are  instant- 
ly menaced  with  the  chastisement  which  English  pride 
will  not  fail  to  inflict.  Whether  we  assert  our  rights  by 
sea,  or  attempt  their  maintenance  by  land — whithersoever 
we  turn  ourselves,  this  phantom  incessantly  pursues  us. 
Already  has  it  had  too  much  influence  on  the  councils  of 
Uie  nation.  It  contributed  to  the  repeal  of  the  embargo — 
that  dishonourable  repeal,  which  has  so  much  tarnished 
the  character  of  our  government.  Mr.  President,  I  have 
before  said  on  this  floor,  and  now  take  occasion  to  repeat 
5* 


54  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

the  remark,  that  I  most  sincerely  desire  peace  and  amitj 
with  England ;  that  I  even  prefer  an  adjustment  of  all  dif- 
ferences with  her,  before  one  with  any  other  nation.  But 
if  she  persists  in  a  denial  of  justice  to  us,  or  if  she  avails 
herself  of  the  occupation  of  West  Florida  to  commence 
war  upon  us,  I  trust  and  hope,  that  all  hearts  will  unite  in 
a  bold  and  vigorous  vindication  of  our  rights." 

Mr.  Clay's  speech  upon  the  Florida  title  was  not  de- 
signed for  a  brilliant  or  impassioned  effort.  The  orator 
attempted  nothing  but  to  set  before  the  senate  an  irresisti- 
ble array  of  fact  and  argument,  and  what  he  attempted  he 
accomplished.  He  aimed  at  speaking  like  a  man  of  sense 
and  judgement,  who  had  investigated  his  subject  with  un- 
wearied diligence.  Whenever  he  pleased,  he  could  seem 
to  rise  aloft  like  Milton's  warring  angels,  and  do  battle  in 
the  air  with  ethereal  weapons;  but  he  proved,  on  this  oc- 
casion, as  he  had  done  on  many  others,  that  he  could,  with 
equal  skill,  fight,  like  an  earthly  giant,  with  mace  and 
buckler,  upon  the  plain.  After  listening  to  his  arguments, 
some  of  the  warmest  opponents  of  the  measure  which  he- 
had  vindicated,  had  the  candour  to  acknowledge  their  er- 
ror, and,  taking  him  cordially  by  the  hand,  expressed  their 
determination  to  go  with  him  in  the  final  vote.  They  did 
so,  and  the  proclamation  of  the  president  was  approved. 
Had  there  been,  at  that  time,  in  the  senate,  no  democratic 
champion  like  Mr.  Clay — one  who  could  stand  up  among 
the  tall  and  fierce  spirits  of  faction  to  vindicate  the  rights 
of  our  country,  and  utter  a  solemn  warning  in  the  ears  of 
those  who  would  wantonly  throw  the  key  of  her  strength 
into  the  hands  of  an  enemy,  it  is  difficult  to  say  how  im- 
minently dangerous  might  have  been  the  present  condition 
of  the  republic. 

Mr.  Clay's  next  considerable  effort  in  the  senate  was 
made  in  the  following  year,  1811,  upon  the  question  of 


HENttY   CLAY.  55 

renewing  the  charter  of  the  old  bank  of  the  United  States. 
He  had  been  instructed  by  the  legislature  of  Kentucky  to 
oppose  the  renewal,  but  he  would  have  contented  himself 
with  giving  a  silent  vote  against  it,  had  he  not  been  inci- 
ted to  a  more  active  opposition  by  the  language  of  defiance 
which  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  opposite  party.  The  re- 
newal of  the  charter  was  advocated  by  the  whole  body  of 
the  federalists,  whom  Mr.  Clay  denominated  the  "  Mace- 
donian phalanx,"  and  Mr.  William  H.  Crawford,  and  one 
or  two  other  democrats,  had,  on  this  question,  united  with 
the  opposition.  Mr.  Pope  too,  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Clay, 
made  a  long  and  able  speech  in  favour  of  the  bank,  in  di- 
rect violation  of  the  instructions  of  the  legislature.  The 
strength  thus  arrayed  against  Mr.  Clay,  might  have  in- 
timidated an  ordinary  man,  but  he  had  learned  his  own 
powers  too  well  to  think,  for  a  moment,  of  shrinking  from 
the  encounter. 

Mr.  C.'s  remarks  against  the  bank  were  principally 
confined  to  the  subject  of  its  unconstitutionality.  His  ar- 
gument on  this  point  was  so  replete  with  keen  and  pow- 
erful logic,  that  we  choose  to  transfer  it  to  our  pages  in  his 
own  words.  Nothing  equal  to  it  can  be  found  in  any  of 
the  numerous  discussions  which  the  bank  question  has 
called  forth.  He  seemed  to  hold  the  strength  of  his  an- 
tagonists In  the  hollow  of  his  hands. 

"  This  vagrant  power  to  erect  a  bank,  after  having 
wandered  throughout  the  whole  constitution  in  quest  of 
some  congenial  spot  to  fasten  upon,  has  been,  at  length, 
located  by  the  gentleman  from  Georgia  on  that  provision 
which  authorizes  congress  to  lay  and  collect  taxes.  In 
1791,  the  power  is  referred  to  one  part  of  the  instrument; 
in  1811,  to  another.  Sometimes  it  is  alleged  to  be  deduci- 
ble  from  the  power  to  regulate  commerce.  Hard  pressed 


56  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

here,  it  disappears,  and  shews  itself  under  the  grant  to 
coin  money. 

"  What  is  the  nature  of  this  government  ?  It  is  em- 
phatically federal,  vested  with  an  aggregate  of  specified 
powers  for  general  purposes,  conceded  by  existing  sove- 
reignties, who  have  themselves  retained  what  is  not  so 
conceded.  It  is  said,  that  there  are  cases  in  which  it 
must  act  on  implied  powers.  This  is  not  controverted, 
but  the  implication  must  be  necessary,  and  obviously  flow 
from  the  enumerated  power  with  which  it  is  allied.  The 
power  to  charter  companies  is  not  specified  in  the  grant, 
and,  I  contend,  is  of  a  nature  not  transferable  by  mere  im- 
plication. It  is  one  of  the  most  exalted  acts  of  sovereign- 
ty. In  the  exercise  of  this  gigantic  power,  we  have  seen 
an  East  India  Company  erected,  which  has  carried  dis- 
may, desolation,  and  death,  throughout  one  of  the  largest 
portions  of  the  habitable  world.  A  company  which  is,  in 
itself,  a  sovereignty — which  has  subverted  empires,  and  set 
up  new  dynasties — and  has  not  only  made  war,  but  war 
against  its  legitimate  sovereign  !  Under  the  influence  of 
this  power,  we  have  seen  arise  a  South  Sea  Company  and 
a  Mississippi  Company,  that  distracted  and  convulsed  all 
Europe,  and  menaced  a  total  overthrow  of  all  credit  and 
confidence,  and  universal  bankruptcy.  Is  it  to  be  ima- 
gined, that  a  power  so  vast  would  have  been  left  by  the 
constitution  to  doubtful  inference  ?  It  has  been  alleged, 
that  there  are  many  instances  in  the  constitution,  where 
powers,  in  their  nature  incidental,  and  which  would  ne- 
cessarily have  been  vested  along  with  the  principal,  are 
nevertheless  expressly  enumerated ;  and  the  power  to  make 
rules  and  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  land  and 
naval  forces,  which,  it  is  said,  is  incidental  to  the  power  to 
raise  armies  and  provide  a  navy,  is  given  as  an  example. 
What  does  this  prove  ?  How  extremely  cautious  the  con- 


HENRY   CLAY.  57 

vention  were  to  leave  as  little  as  possible  to  implication^ 
In  all  cases  where  incidental  powers  are  acted  upon,  the 
principal  and  incidental  ought  to  be  congenial  with  each 
other,  and  partake  of  a  common  nature.  The  incidental 
power  ought  to  be  strictly  subordinate  and  limited  to  the 
end  proposed  to  be  attained  by  the  specified  power.  la 
other  words,  under  the  name  of  accomplishing  one  olJject, 
which  is  specified,  the  power  implied  ought  not  to  be  made 
to  embrace  other  objects,  which  are  not  specified  in  the  con- 
stitution. If,  then,  as  is  contended,  you  could  establish  a 
bank  to  collect  and  distribute  the  revenue,  it  ought  to  be 
expressly  restricted  to  the  purpose  of  such  collection  and 
distribution.  It  is  mockery,  worse  than  usurpation,  to 
establish  it  for  a  lawful  object,  and  then  to  extend  it  to 
other  objects,  which  are  not  lawful.  In  deducing  the  power 
to  create  corporations,  such  as  I  have  described  it,  from, 
the  power  to  collect  taxes,  the  relation  and  condition  of 
principal  and  incident  are  prostrated  and  destroyed.  The 
accessory  is  exalted  above  the  principal.  As  well  might 
it  be  said,  that  the  great  luminary  of  day  is  an  accessory, 
a  satellite  to  the  humblest  star  that  twinkles  forth  its  feeble 
light  in  the  firmament  of  heaven. 

"  Suppose  the  constitution  had  been  silent  as  to  an  in- 
dividual department  of  this  government — could  you,  under 
the  power  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  establish  a  judiciary  ? 
I  presume  not;  but,  if  you  could  derive  the  power  by  mere 
implication,  could  you  vest  it  with  any  other  authority 
than  to  enforce  the  collection  of  the  revenue  ?  A  bank  is 
made  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  aiding  in  the  collection 
of  the  revenue,  and,  whilst  it  is  engaged  in  this,  the  most 
inferior  and  subordinate  of  all  its  functions,  it  is  made  to 
diffuse  itself  throughout  society,  and  to  influence  all  the 
great  operations  of  credit,  circulation,  and  commerce. 
Like  the  Virginia  justice,  you  tell  the  man,  whose  turkey 


58  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

bad  been  stolen,  that  your  books  of  precedents  furnish  no 
form  for  his  case,  but  then  you  will  grant  him  a  precept  to 
search  for  a  cow,  and,  wnen  looking  for  that,  he  may  pos- 
sibly find  his  turkey !  You  say  to  this  corporation,  we 
cannot  authorize  you  to  discount — to  emit  paper — to  regu- 
kte  commerce — no !  our  book  has  no  precedents  of  that 
kind-.  But  then  we  can  authorize  you  to  collect  the  re- 
venue, and,  whilst  occupied  with  that,  you  may  do  what- 
ever else  you  please.1 ' 

"  What  is  a  corporation,  such  as  the  bill  contemplates  ? 
It  is  a  splendid  association  of  favoured  individuals,  taken 
from  the  mass  of  society,  and  invested  with  exemptions, 
and  surrounded  by  immunities  and  privileges.  The  ho- 
nourable gentleman  from  Massachusetts  has  said,  that  the 
original  law,  establishing  the  bank,  was  justly  liable  to 
the  objection  of  vesting  in  that  institution  an 'exclusive 
privilege,  the  faith  of  the  government  being  pledged,  that 
no  other  bank  should  be  authorized  during  its  existence. 
This  objection,  he  supposes,  is  obviated  by  the  bill  under 
consideration ;  but  all  corporations  enjov  exclusive  privi- 
leges— that  is,  the  corporators  have  privileges,  which  no 
others  possess ;  if  you  create  fifty  corporations  instead  of 
one,  you  have  only  fifty  privileged  bodies  instead  of  one. 
I  contend,  that  the  states  have  the  exclusive  power  to  re- 
gulate contracts,  to  declare  the  capacities  and  incapacities 
to  contract,  and  to  provide  as  to  the  extent  of  the  responsi- 
bility of  debtors  to  their  creditors.  If  congress  have  the 
power  to  erect  an  artificial  body,  and  say  it  shall  be  en- 
dowed with  the  attributes  of  an  individual — if  you  can 
bestow  on  this  object  of  your  own  creation  the  ability  to 
contract,  may  you  not,  in  contravention  of  state  rights, 
confer  upon  slaves,  infants,  and  femes  covert,  the  ability  to 
contract  ?  And  if  you  have  the  power  to  say,  that  an  as- 
sociation of  individuals  shall  be  responsible  for  their  debts 


HENRY   CLAY.  59 

only  in  a  certain  limited  degree,  what  is  to  prevent  an  ex- 
tension of  a  similar  exemption  to  individuals  ?  Where  is 
the  limitation  upon  this  power  to  set  up  corporations? 
You  establish  one  in  the  heart  of  a  state,  the  basis  of  whose 
capital  is  money.  You  may  erect  others,  whose  capital 
shall  consist  of  land,  slaves,  arid  personal  estates,  and  thus 
the  whole  property  within  the  jurisdiction  of  a  state  might 
be  absorbed  by  these  political  bodies.  The  existing  bank 
contends,  that  it  is  beyond  the  powers  of  a  state  to  tax  it, 
and,  if  this  pretension  be  well  founded,  it  is  in  the  power 
of  congress,  by  chartering  companies,  to  dry  up  all  the 
sources  of  state  revenue.  Georgia  has  undertaken,  it  is 
true,  to  levy  a  tax  on  the  branch  within  her  jurisdiction ; 
but  this  law,  now  under  a  course  of  litigation,  is  considered 
invalid.  The  United  States  own  a  great  deal  of  land  in 
the  state  of  Ohio  ;  can  this  government,  for  the  purpose  of 
creating  an  ability  to  purchase  it,  charter  a  company  ? 
Aliens  are  forbidden,  in  that  state,  to  hold  land — could 
you,  in  order  to  multiply  purchasers,  confer  upon  them  the 
capacity  to  hold  land,  in  derogation  of  the  local  law  ? 
I  imagine  this  will  hardly  be  insisted  on ;  and  yet  there 
exists  a  more  obvious  connexion  between  the  undoubted 
power  which  is  possessed  by  this  government  to  sell  its 
land,  and  the  means  of  executing  that  power  by  increas- 
ing the  demand  in  the  market,  than  there  is  between 
this  bank  and  the  collection  of  a  tax.  This  government 
has  the  power  to  levy  taxes,  to  raise  afmies,  provide 
munitions,  make  war,  regulate  commerce,  coin  money,  &c. 
&c.  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  show  as  intimate  a  con- 
nexion between  a  corporation  established  for  any  purpose 
whatever,  and  some  one  or  other  of  those  great  powerq, 
as  there  is  between  the  revenue  and  the  bank  of  the  United 
States." 

A.t  the  time  Mr.  Clay  delivered  this  speech,  the  greatest 


60  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

part  of  the  capital  of  the  United  States  bank  was  owned 
by  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain,  and  there  was  no  securi- 
ty against  its  being  perverted  to  evil  purposes.  The  dan- 
gers to  be  apprehended  from  this  condition  of  the  institu- 
tion were  strongly  portrayed  in  the  following  remarks: 

"  The  power  of  a  nation  is  said  to  consist  in  the  sword 
and  the  purse.  Perhaps,  at  last,  all  power  is  resolvable 
into  that  of  the  purse,  for,  with  it,  you  may  command  al- 
most every  thing  else.  The  specie  circulation  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  is  estimated  by  some  calculators  at  ten  millions 
of  dollars,  and,  if  it  be  no  more,  one  moiety  is  in  the  vaults 
of  this  bank.  May  not  the  time  arrive  when  the  concen- 
tration of  such  a  vast  portion  of  the  circulating  medium 
of  the  country  in  the  hands  of  any  corporation,  will  be 
dangerous  to  our  liberties  ?  By  whom  is  this  immense 
power  wielded?  By  a  body  who,  in  derogation  of  the 
great  principle  of  all  our  institutions,  responsibility  to  the 
people,  is  amenable  only  to  a  few  stockholders,  and  they 
chiefly  foreigners.  Suppose  an  attempt  to  subvert  this 
government — would  not  the  traitor  first  aim,  by  force  or 
corruption,  to  acquire  the  treasure  of  this  company  ? 
Look  at  it  in  another  aspect.  Seven  tenths  of  its  capital 
are  in  the  hands  of  foreigners,  and  these  foreigners  chiefly 
English  subjects.  We  are  possibly  on  the  eve  of  a  rupture 
with  that  nation.  Should  such  an  event  occur,  do  you 
apprehend,  that  the  English  Premier  would  experience 
any  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  entire  control  of  this  in- 
stitution? Republics,  above  all  other  governments,  ought 
most  seriously  to  guard  against  foreign  influence.  All 
history  proves,  that  the  internal  dissensions  excited  by 
foreign  intrigue,  have  produced  the  downfall  of  almost 
every  free  government  that  has  hitherto  existed ;  and  yet, 
gentlemen  contend  that  we  are  benefitted  by  the  posses- 
sion of  this  foreign  capital!" 


HENRY    CLAY.  61 

The  effect  of  these  and  other  arguments,  used  by  Mr. 
Clay,  was  so  powerful,  that  notwithstanding  the  confi- 
dence with  which  his  opponents  had  entered  upon  the 
discussion,  he  was  sustained  by  the  final  vote,  and  the 
bank  charter  was  not  renewed.  It  was  a  signal  victory. 

There  were  many  other  earnest  discussions  in  the 
senate  in  1811,  and  in  nearly  all  of  them  the  orator  of 
Kentucky  took  a  foremost  stand,  in  vindication  of  the  con- 
stitution and  the  rights  of  the  people;  but  our  limits  will 
not  permit  us  to  dwell  in  detail  upon  his  exertions.  We 
must  necessarily  be  content  with  giving  a  rapid  and  im- 
perfect sketch  of  his  history,  leaving  the  more  voluminous 
biographer  to  do  full  justice  to  his  merits. 


62  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

PART    SECOND. 

SECTION  FIRST. 

IN  the  summer  of  1811,  Mr.  Clay  having  returned  to 
Kentucky,  was  elected  a  member  of  the  national  House 
of  Representatives.  At  the  opening  of  the  next  congres- 
sional session,  he  took  his  seat;  and  it  is  a  very  remarka- 
ble fact,  that  on  the  first  day  of  his  appearance  in  the  house, 
he  was  appointed  speaker,  by  a  vote  of  nearly  two  to  one 
over  two  opposing  candidates.  Such  an  event  has  never 
occurred  in  the  history  of  any  other  individual,  and,  in  all 
probability,  will  never  occur  again.  In  the  case  of  Mr. 
Clay,  there  were  several  peculiar  circumstances  that  re- 
commended him  strongly  to  the  members  of  the  house — 
thus  enabling  him  to  seize,  at  once,  as  the  prerogative  of 
intellectual  power,  what  had  been  bestowed  on  others  as  the 
meed  of  age  and  experience.  He  was  known  to  have  held 
the  office  of  speaker  in  the  legislature  of  Kentucky,  and 
to  have  discharged  its  duties  with  great  efficiency.  His 
short  but  splendid  career  in  the  senate,  had  also  elicited 
universal  admiration.  It  has  been  said,  too,  that  man/ 
members  of  the  house  gave  him  their  votes,  with  the  view 
of  imposing  a  check  upon  the  language  and  conduct  of 
one  of  their  turbulent  spirits— Mr.  John  Randolph,  of 
Virginia,  who,  for  several  years,  had  been  habitually  guilty 
of  the  grossest  outrages  upon  order  and  decorum.  This 
gentleman  had  become  excessively  troublesome  in  the 
house.  An  aristocrat  by  education  and  habit,  he  deemed 
parliamentary  rules  the  trammels  of  ignoble  minds,  and 
disdained  to  be  governed  by  any  laws,  save  those  of  his 
own  caprice.  Mr.  Macon  and  Mr.  Varnum  had  occupied 


HENRY   CLAY.  63 

the  speaker's  chair;  but  neither  of  these  gentlemen  was 
ever  accustomed  to  exercise  his  authority  in  restraining 
Mr.  Randolph's  conduct  within  the  rules  of  order.  Mr. 
Macon  indulged  him  from  feelings  of  political  and  per- 
sonal friendship ;  and  Mr.  Varnum,  from  the  dread  of  his 
keen  and  malignant  sarcasm,  against  which  the  sacredness 
of  office  had,  on  several  occasions,  proved  but  a  feeble  pro- 
tection. The  representatives  of  the  people  thought  it  due 
to  the  dignity  of  their  body,  that  Mr.  R.  should  be  arrested 
in  his  profligate  career ;  and,  as  they  knew  that  Mr.  Clay 
was  not  only  a  gentleman  of  extraordinary  intellect,  and 
some  parliamentary  experience,  but  a  man  of  too  much 
energy  of  character,  and  dignity  of  demeanour,  to  brook 
even  the  appearance  of  disrespect  offered  to  him,  either  in 
a  private  or  an  official  capacity,  it  is  not  strange  that,  on 
this  occasion,  they  appointed  him  to  the  speaker's  chair, 
in  preference  to  men  who  had  been  longer  in  the  house. 
Those  who  know  in  ^vhat  manner  he  subsequently  per- 
formed the  duties  of  his  office,  are  aware,  that  the  high 
expectations  originally  formed  of  him,  were  more  than 
sustained.  During  the  many  years  of  his  presidency 
over  the  house,  including  seasons  of  unprecedented  poli- 
tical strife — not  one  of  his  decisions  was  ever  reversed  on 
an  appeal  from  the  chair,  notwithstanding  the  energy 
with  which  he  always  exerted  his  authority.  This  fact 
is  his  best  and  most  eloquent  eulogy. 

The  period  at  which  Mr.  Clay  went  into  the  House  of 
Representatives,  was  one  of  the  most  momentous  in  Ame- 
rican history.  The  relations  between  our  country  and 
England,  which,  for  some  years,  had  been  of  an  unplea- 
sant nature,  wert;  now  assuming  a  character  that  indicated 
an  open  and  immediate  rupture.  The  aggressions  upon 
our  rights  had  become  insufferable.  British  cruisers"upon 
the  high  seas  were  in  the  constant  habit  of  boarding  our 


64  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

vessels,  and  forcibly  seizing  and  detaining  our  Beamen, 
under  pretence  of  supposing  them  the  subjects  of  the  king. 
The  Americans  thus  seized,  were  not  allowed  to  bring 
their  cases  before  a  competent  tribunal  for  adjudication, 
but  were  unconditionally  subject  to  the  arbitrary  will  of 
i  every  British  naval  officer.  Thousands  of  our  country - 
$nen  were,  in  this  way,  carried  into  slavery,  and  forced  to 
expose  their  lives  by  toiling  in  deadly  climes,  or  fighting 
the  battles  of  their  oppressors.  By  official  returns,  it  ap- 
peared, that  not  less  than  seven  thousand  were  in  capti- 
vity in  1812.  It  was  in  vain  that  we  remonstrated  against 
these  enormities.  To  evince,  in  the  strongest  manner,  our 
disposition  to  effect  an  amicable  adjustment  of  all  difficul- 
ties between  Great  Britain  and  ourselves,  our  government 
proposed  certain  arrangements,  which,  if  the  mere  reco- 
very of  her  own  subjects  had  been  her  real  design  in  the 
impressment  of  our  sailors,  would  have  enabled  her  to 
effect  her  object,  without  doing  injustice  to  the  United 
States.  The  proposition  was  rejected  with  supercilious- 
ness. 

The  impressment  of  our  countrymen  by  Great  Britain, 
was  accompanied  by  a  general  and  systematick  attack 
upon  our  ci.munerce,  almost  unprecedented  in  the  history 
of  nations.  She  proclaimed  all  the  ports  of  France  in  a 
state  of  blockade,  and  prohibited  our  vessels'  from  entering 
them.  It  is  a  well-known  law  of  nations,  that  a  neutral 
people  may  trade  to  every  foreign  port,  which  is  not  lite, 
rally  blockaded  by  the  presence  of  an  adequate  force ;  but 
Great  Britain  shut  up  the  harbours  of  a  whole  country  by 
mere  proclamation,  and  then  attempted  to  force  us  to  ob. 
serve  her  mock  blockades,  by  seizing  upon  our  trading 
vessels,  and  confiscating  their  cargoes.  Every  American 
vessel  that  was  suspected  of  being  destined  for  France, 
was  made  a  prize.  Our  ships  were  seized  in  the  very 


HENRY   CLAY.  65 

mouths  of  our  own  harbours,  for  violating  the  blockade  of 
French  ports.  Emboldened  by  our  non-resistance  to  such 
enormous  illegalities,  our  oppressor  went  still  further,  and, 
in  effect,  excluded  our  vessels  from  the  ports  of  Spain, 
and  ever}'  other  country  with  which  she  herself  was  not 
allowed  to  trade  freely.  In  this  way  she  expected  to  put 
a  final  check  upon  the  whole  commerce  of  the  United 
States,  unless  we  should  compel  foreign  countries,  over 
whose  maritime  regulations  we  had  no  control,  to  open 
their  ports  to  her  own  vessels.  For  all  these  acts  of  op- 
pression, she  assigned  the  most  frivolous  and  contradic- 
tory reasons.  It  was  one  of  her  favourite  maxims,  that 
the  seas  were  her  own;  and  it  was  evidently  her  determi- 
nation to  crush  our  commerce  at  once~~TfT  order  that  we 
might  never  dispute  hef  supremacy.  "The  whole  domi- 
nion of  the  sea  was,  in  fact,  usurped,  and  every  vessel, 
whose  object  was  not  to  subserve  her  policy,  treated  as  an 
open  enemy. 

<_- .  Our  government  had  spent  months  and  years  in  seeking 
"justice  by  peaceable  means.  Madison  and  Pinckney  had 
eloquently  depicted  the  catalogue  of  our  wrongs,  in  their 
correspondence  with  the  officers  of  the  British  king. 
Proposition  after  proposition  was  submitted — message  was 
despatched  after  message; — but  all  our  forbearance  occa- 
sioned only  an  accumulation  of  injuries — the  piling  of 
Ossa  upon  Pelion. 

Thus  situated,  the  United  States  seemed  to  have  no 
course  left  but  to  put  themselves  in  readiness  for  a  forci- 
ble resistance  to  tyranny ;  and  the  proceedings  of  the  Con- 
gress now  in  session,  were  looked  to  with  a  deep  and  ab- 
sorbing interest.  It  was  convened  by  the  president,  at  an 
earlier  day  than  usual,  with  express  reference  to  the  sub- 
ject of  a  declaration  of  war.  Had  the  country  been  free 
from  party  spirit,  one  general  sentiment,  in  favour  of  vin- 
6* 


66  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

dicating  our  rights  by  an  appeal  to  arms,  would  have  per- 
vaded her  many  millions.     Such,  however,  was  not  her 

7"  condition.  A  fierce  conflict  was  raging  at  that  day  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  France,  and  there  was  a  power- 
ful party  in  the  United  States,  which  was  distinguished 
by  such  an  infatuated  attachment  to  the  former  power, 
and  such  a  bitter  hatred  of  the  latter,  that  those  who  were 
members  of  it,  chose  to  tolerate,  without  a  murmur,  every 
possible  manifestation  of  British  insolence  and  outrage, 
rather  than  take  up  arms  against  her.  This  party  was 
strorigjin  Congress — embracing  a  large  proportion  of  the 

^  members  of  both  Houses,  and  embodying  an  aggregate  of 
talent  that  rendered  it  truly  formidable.  It  was  against 
the  leaders  of  this  party  that  Mr.  Clay  was  now  called  on 
to  exert  his  power;  and  his  country  well  remembers  how 
nobly  and  successfully  he  acquitted  himself  in  the  en- 
counter. He  stood  not  alone — Lowndes,  Cheves,  Cal- 
houn,  and  otherjpowerful  spirits,  stood  firmly  at  his  sjde; 

_  but  his  name  was  the  tower  of  strength  on  which  rested 
the  hopes  of  the  democracy  of  the  nation.  The  occasion 
was  great,  beyond  any  that  had  ever  roused  his  energies; 
and  his  soul  swelled  at  the  contemplation  of  it,  like  the 
ocean,  when  the  imprisoned  winds  of  heaven  are  heaving 
beneath  its  surface.  From  the  electric  home  of  his  mind 
a  flash  went  forth,  and  it  was  seen  blazing  and  corrusca- 
ting  through  every  city  and  hamlet  of  the  Union.  Lake 
the  Eastern  Magician,  he  invoked  the  storm  with  a  voice  of 
power,  and  the  shouts  of  answering  spirits,  like  the  deep 
murmurs  of  subterranean  waters,  went  up  from  every  hill, 
and  plain,  and  valley  of  his  country. 

On  the  27th  of  November,  the  committee  of  the  house, 
to  whom  had  been  referred  the  subject  of  our  foreign  rela- 
tions, made  an  able  report,  giving  a  concise  exposition  of 

.     the  injustice  of  Great  Britain  toward  the  United  States, 


HENRY   CLAY.  67 

and  insisting  on  the  policy  of  war.  As  the  resolution 
was  discussed  while  Mr.  Clay  was  in  the  chair,  he  had 
not  an  opportunity  to  express  his  opinions  upon  it.  The 
debate,  however,  was  conducted  by  Randolph,  Cheves, 
Grundy,  and  several  other  distinguished  speakers,  with 
great  ability  and  warmth.  Mr.  Randolph's  intellect  was 
then  in  its  vigour;  and  the  effort  which  he  made,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  report  of  the  committee,  was,  perhaps,  the 
greatest  in  his  whole  congressional  life.  The  extensive 
resources  of  his  rnind,  the  stately  march  of  his  eloquent 
periods,  the  startling  flashes  of  his  indignation,  and  "  the 
sneering  devil  that  lurked  in  his  tone  and  look,"  rendered 
him  an  opponent,  at  that  day,  whom  it  was  by  no 
means  safe  to  encounter.  Mr.  Clay  was  the  only  man  in 
the  house,  who  could  dash  aside,  with  unerring  certainty, 
the  weapons  of  this  Ishmael. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days,  the  subject  of  war  was ; 
presented  to  the  representatives  of  the  people,  in  the  form 
of  a  bill  for  raising  a  military  force  of  twenty-five  thou- 
sand men ;  and  the  speaker  mingled  in  the  debate"."" 'He 
gave  to  the  friends  of  the  bill  his  heartiest  co-operation. 
Although  the  taunts  of  the  opposition  had  been  many  and 
bitter, "he  entered  into  the  discussion  with  all  the  dignity 
and  philosophical  calmness  by  which  he  had  been  uni- 
formly characterized.  The  subject  in  debate  was  well 
/Calculated  to  excite  the  feelings,  and  preclude  dispassion- 
/  ate  argument;  but  he  took  an  elevated  stand,  from  which 
he  could  look  calmly  down  upon  the  fierce  passions  war- 
ring and  maddening  beneath  him,  and  hold  out  his  sub- 
ject to  the  view  of  his  audience  in  its  true  colour  and  di- 
mensions. He  seemed  like  one  who  had  been  far  on  in 
advance  of  his  companions,  and  had  come  back  to  poini 
out  to  them  the  patli  they  were  to  pursue.  His  re- 
marks were  never  fully  reported,  and,  for  a  knowledge  of 


68  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

their  character,  we  are  more  indebted  to  the  testimony  of 
ear-witnesses,  than  to  that  of  the  congressional  journals. 
The  speech  was  a  splendid  combination  of  vigorous  logick 
\  and  eloquent  appeal.  The  orator  confined  himself,  for  a 
time,  to  severe  disquisition;  and,  after  working  a  rational 
convktion  in  the  minds  of  the  assembly,  he  let  his  words 
go  out  "  like  a  thunder-roll  upon  the  banners  of  the  air," 
to  quicken  and  electrify  the  passions. 

Among  those  who  were  in  favour  of  war,  there  was  a 
great  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  quantum  of  military 
force  which  it  was  expedient  to  raise.  Some  genttenrefi 
proposed  fifteen  thousand — a  force  which  ML.dajLth.ought 
too  small  for  war,  and  toa-great  for  peace.  The  secre- 
tary of  war  had  stated,  in  his  report,  that  more  than 
twelve  thousand  men  would  be  necessary  for  the  single 
purpose  of  manning  the  fortresses  upon  the  sea-board ;  and 
it  was  probable  that  a  portion  of  these  would  be  taken 
from  the  twenty-five  thousand,  whom  the  bill  before  the 
house  proposed  to  raise.  The  British  troops  in  Canada 
were  eight  thousand  strong ;  and,  in  case  of  an  invasion, 
they  would  be  concentrated  within  the  almost  impregna- 
ble fortress  of  Quebec.  In  marching  to  this  principal 
point  of  attack,  our  army  would  find  it  necessary  to  sub- 
due the  upper  part  of  Canada,  and  distribute  a  consider- 
able number  of  men  on  the  route,  to  keep  possession  of 
the  various  places  of  military  strength.  Before  the  walls 
of  Quebec,  our  troops  would  find  their  numbers  greatly 
reduced;  and  Mr.  Clay  contended,  that  the  fortress  could 
not  be  safely  attacked  by  a  force  less  than  double  of  that 
by  which  it  was  garrisoned.  If  it  fell,  another  detach- 
ment from  the  regular  army  must  be  left  to  hold  it ;  and  if 
the  war  were  afterwards  to  be  carried  into  the  lower  coun- 
try, it  seemed  obvious  that  the  whole  force  of  twenty-five 
thousand  men  would  be  by  no  means  too  great.  Even  if 


HENRY   CLAY.  69 

all  designs  of  invading  Canada  were  to  be  abandoned,  Mr. 
Clay  argued,  that  the  proposed  force  would  be  none  too 
large  for  the  protection  of  the  immense  territory  of  the 
United  States,  including,  as  it  does,  a  maritime  frontier, 
every  where  exposed  to  the  depredations  of  a  naval  power. 
His  plan  was,  to  prosecute  the  war,  if  it  were  undertaken, 
with  the  whole  of  a  nation's  energies — to  crush,  at  once, 
with  an  armed  heel,  the  serpent  that  was  giving  its  deadly 
embrace  to  our  liberties. 

An  attempt  had  been  made  in  the  discussion,  particu- 
larly by  Mr.  Randolph,  to  excite  the  prejudices  of  the 
house  against  a  regular  army,  which,  he  contended,  would 
be  likely  to  deluge  the  country  in  blood,  and  build  up  a 
throne  to  some  idol  conqueror.  "  I  am  not,"  said  Mr. 
Clay,  "  the  advocate  of  standing  armies ;  but  the  standing 
armies  which  excite  most  my  fears,  are  those  which  are 
kept  up  in  time  of  peace.  I  confess  I  do  not  perceive  any 
real  source  of  danger  in  a  military  force  of  twenty-five 
thousand  men  in  the  United  States,  provided  only  for  a 
state  of  war,  even  supposing  it  to  be  corrupted,  and  its 
arms  turned,  by  the  ambition  of  its  leaders,  against  the 
freedom  of  the  country.  I  see  abundant  security  against 
any  such  treasonable  attempt.  The  diffusion  of  political 
information  amongst  the  great  body  of  the  people,  con- 
stitutes a  powerful  safeguard.  The  American-  character 
has  been  much  abused  by  Europeans,  whose  tourists,  whe- 
ther on  horse  or  foot,  in  verse  and  prose  have  united  in  de- 
preciating it.  It  is  true,  that  we  do  not  exhibit  as  many 
signal  instances  of  scientific  acquirement  in  this  country, 
as  are  furnished  in  the  old  world;  but  it  is  undeniable,  that 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  possess  more  intelligence  than 
any  other  people  on  the  globe.  Such  a  people,  consisting1 
of  upwards  of  seven  millions,  affording  a  physical  power 
of  about  a  million  of  men,  capable  of  bearing  arms,  and 


70  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

ardently  devoted  to  liberty,  cannot  be  subdued  by  an  army 
of  twenty-five  thousand  men.  The  wide  extent  of  coun- 
try over  which  we  are  spread,  is  another  security.  In 
other  countries,  France  and  England  for  example,  the  fall 
of  Paris  or  London  is  the  fall  of  the  nation.  Here  are  no 
such  dangerous  aggregations  of  people.  New-York,  and 
Philadelphia,  and  Boston,  and  every  city  on  the  Atlantic, 
may  be  subdued  by  an  usurper,  and  he  will  have  made  but 
a  small  advance  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  purpose. 
Even  let  the  whole  country  east  of  the  Alleghany  submit 
to  the  ambition  of  some  daring  chief,  and  the  liberty  of 
the  Union  will  be  still  unconquered.  It  will  find  success- 
ful support  from  the  west.  A  great  portion  of  the  mili- 
tia— nearly  the  whole,  I  understand,  of  that  of  Massa- 
chusetts, have  arms  in  their  hands ;  and  I  trust  in  God, 
that  this  great  object  will  be  persevered  in,  till  every  man 
in  the  nation  can  proudly  shoulder  the  musket,  which  is 
to  defend  his  country  and  himself.  A  people  having,  be- 
sides, the  benefit  of  one  general  government,  other  local 
governments  in  full  operation,  capable  of  exerting  and 
commanding  great  portions  of  the  physical  power,  all  of 
which  must  be  prostrated  before  our  constitution  is  sub- 
verted— such  a  people  have  nothing  to  fear  from  a  petty 
contemptible  force  of  twenty-five  thousand  regulars." 

Some  of  the  more  timorous  and  pacific  members  of  the 
house  had  intimated,  that  it  was  improper  to  discuss  pub- 
lickly  the  subject  of  a  war  against  Britain.  "  I  do  not," 
said  Mr.  Clay,  "feel  that  impropriety.  It  is  a  subject,  in 
its  nature  incapable  of  concealment.  Even  in  countries 
where  the  powers  of  government  are  conducted  by  a  sin- 
gle ruler,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  that  ruler  to  conceal 
his  intentions,  when  he  meditates  war.  The  assembling 
of  armies — the  strengthening  of  posts — all  the  movements 
preparatory  to  war,  and  which  it  is  impossible  to  disguise, 


HENRY   CLAY.  71 

unfold  the  intentions  of  the  sovereign.  Does  Russia  or 
France  intend  war  ? — The  intention  is  invariably  known 
before  the  war  is  commenced.  If  congress  were  to  pass  a 
law,  with  closed  doors,  to  raise  an  army  for  the  purpose  of 
war,  its  enlistment  and  organization,  which  cannot  be  done 
in  secret,  will  indicate  the  use  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied ; 
and  we  cannot  suppose  England  will  be  so  blind  as  not  to 
see  that  she  is  aimed  at.  Nor  can  she  injure  us  more,  bj 
thus  knowing  our  purposes,  than  if  she  were  kept  in  igno- 
rance of  them.  She  may,  indeed,  anticipate  us,  and  com- 
mence the  war.  But  that  is  what  she  is,  in  fact,  doing;  and 
she  can  add  but  little  to  the  injury  she  is  inflicting.  If  she 
chooses  to  declare  war  in  form,  let  her  do  so — the  respon- 
sibility will  be  with  her." 

It  had  been  emphatically  asked  by  the  opposition,  what 
we  were  to  gain  by  the  war.  "  In  reply,"  said  Mr.  C,  r 
"  I  will  ask,  what  are  we  not  to  lose  by  peace  ? — Com- 
merce, character,  a  nation's  best  treasure,  honour  !  If  pe- 
cuniary considerations  alone  are  to  govern,  there  is  suffi- 
cient motives  for  the  war.  Our  revenue  is  reduced  by  the 
operation  of  the  belligerent  edicts,  to  about  six  millions  of 
dollars.  The  year  preceding  the  embargo,  it  was  sixteen. 
Take  away  the  orders  in  council,  it  will  again  mount  up 
to  sixteen  millions.  By  continuing,  therefore,  in  peace,  if 
the  mongrel  situation,  in  which  we  are,  deserves  that  de- 
nomination— we  lose  annually,  in  revenue  alone,  ten  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  Gentlemen  will  say,  repeal  the  law  of 
non-importation.  If  the  United  States  were  capable  of 
that  perfidy,  the  revenue  would  not  be  restored  to  its  for- 
mer state,  the  orders  in  council  continuing.  Without  an 
export  trade,  which  these  orders  prevent,  inevitable  niin 
will  ensue,  if  we  import  as  freely  as  we  did  prior  to  the 
embargo.  A  nation  that  carries  on  an  import  trade,  with- 
out an  export  trade  to  support  it.  must,  in  the  end,  b«  as 


72  BIOGRAPHY   OP 

certainly  bankrupt,  as  the  individual  would  be  who  incur- 
red an  annual  expenditure  without  an  income." 

Every  speech  that  was  made  before  the  house,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  war,  was  filled  with  the  praises  of  England, 
and  the  most  unmeasured  abuse  of  Buonaparte.  The 
latter  was  represented  as  having  effaced  the  title  of  Attila 
to  the  "  Scourge  of  God,"  and  transformed  the  human 
race  into  a  mere  machine  of  his  impious  and  bloody  ambi- 
tion. The  way  in  which  we  were  required  to  show  our 
aohorrence  of  this  malefactor  of  the  human  race,  was  to 
bear  our  injuries  with  patient  endurance,  lest  we  should 
weaken  the  exertions  of  his  great  rival.  "  But  allowing," 
said  Mr.  C.,  "that  the  object  of  England  is  to  check 
the  progress  of  tyranny,  how  is  Tier  philanthropick  purpose 
to  be  achieved  ?  By  a  scrupulous  observance  of  the  rights 
of  others — by  respecting  that  code  of  publick  law  which 
she  professes  to  vindicate — and  by  abstaining  from  self- 
aggrandizement  ?  Then  would  she  command  the  sympa- 
thy of  the  world.  What  are  we  required  to  do,  by  those 
who  would  engage  our  feelings  and  wishes  in  her  behalf? 
To  bear  the  actual  cuffs  of  her  arrogance,  that  we  may 
escape  a  chimerical  French  subjugation  !  We  are  invi- 
ted, conjured,  to  drink  the  portion  of  British  poison  actu- 
ally presented  to  our  lips,  that  we  may  avoid  the  imperial 
dose  prepared  by  perturbed  imaginations.  We  are  called 
upon  to  submit  to  debasement,  dishonour,  disgrace, — to 
bow  the  neck  to  royal  insolence,  as  a  course  of  preparation 
for  manly  resistance  to  Gallic  invasion !  What  nation, 
what  individual,  was  ever  taught,  in  the  schools  of  igno- 
minious submission,  these  patriotic  lessons  of  freedom  and 
independence  ?  Let  those  who  contend  for  this  humi- 
liating doctrine,  read  its  refutation  in  the  history  of  the 
very  man,  against  whose  insatiable  thirst  of  dominion  we 
are  warned.  The  experience  of  desolated  Spain,  during 


HENRY   CLAY.  73 

the  last  fifteen  years,  is  worth  volumes.  Did  she  find  her 
repose  and  safety  in  subserviency  to  the  will  of  that  man  ? 
Had  she  boldly  stood  forth,  and  repelled  the  first  attempt 
to  dictate  to  her  councils,  her  monarch  would  not  now 
have  been  a  miserable  captive  in  Marseilles.  Let  us  come 
home  to  our  own  history ;  it  was  not  by  submission  that 
our  fathers  achieved  our  independence.  The  patriotic 
wisdom  that  placed  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  under  that  cano- 
py, penetrated  the  designs  of  a  corrupt  ministry,  and 
nobly  fronted  encroachment  on  its  first  appearance.  It 
saw,  beyond  the  petty  taxes  with  which  it  commenced,  a 
long  train  of  oppressive  measures,  terminating  in  the  total 
annihilation  of  liberty;  and,  contemptible  as  they  were, 
it  did  not  hesitate  to  resist  them.  Take  the  experience  of 
the  last  four  or  five  years,  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  exhi- 
bits a  different  kind  of  spirit.  We  were;  but  yesterday, 
contending  for  the  indirect  trade — the  right  to  export  to 
Europe  the  coffee  and  sugar  of  the  West  Indies.  To-day' 
we  are  asserting  our  claim  to  the  direct  trade — the  right 
to  export  our  own  cotton,  tobacco,  and  other  domestic  pro- 
duce, to  market.  Yield  this  point,  and,  to-morrow,  inter- 
course between  New- York  and  New-Orleans — between 
the  planters  on  James  River  and  Richmond,  will  be  inter- 
dicted. The  career  of  encroachment  is  never  arrested  by 
submission.  It  will  advance,  while  there  remains  a  single 
privilege  on  which  it  can  operate.  Gentlemen  say,  that  this 
government  is  unfit  for  any  war  but  a  war  of  invasion. 
What !  is  it  not  equivalent  to  invasion,  if  the  mouths  of  our 
harbours  and  outlets  are  blocked  up,  and  we  are  denied  > 
egress  from  our  own  waters  ?  When  the  burglar  is  at  our  j 
door,  shall  we  bravely  sally  forth  and  repel  his  felonious  J 
entrance,  or  meanly  skulk  within  the  cells  of  the  castle  V/ 
After  the  delivery  of  Mr.  Clay's  speech,  several  efforts 
were  made  to  get  the  bill  amended ;  but  they  were  all  in- 
7 


74  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

effectual,  and  the  bill  was  passed  by  a  vote  of  ninety- four 
to  thirty-four — several  gentlemen  voting  in  the  affirmative, 
whose  support  had  been  confidently  counted  an  by  the  op- 
posite party.  This  was  the  first  step  of  the  government 
towajrds  preparing  for  war. 

After  the  house  had  voted  to  increase  the  military  force 
of  the  country,  a  bill  was  brought  forward  to  make  pro- 
visions for  a  navy.  The  president,  in  his  message,  had 
called  the  attention  of  congress  to  the  subject,  by  suggest- 
ing the  propriety  of  fitting  our  maritime  force  for  the  ser- 
vices to  which  it  was  best  adapted,  and  augmenting  the 
stock  of  such  materials  as  were,  in  their  nature,  imperisha- 
ble. The  bill,  which  proposed  an  appropriation  by  govern- 
ment for  the  purchase  of  timber,  and  the  repair  of  those 
vessels  which  were  in  a  state  of  decay,  gave  rise  to  an 
animated  discussion  upon  the  true  naval  policy  of  the 
United  States.  The  same  objection  which  had  been  made 
to  an  army,  was  now  urged  with  equal  vehemence  against 
a  navy — the  danger,  that  an  armed  force  would  subvert 
the  liberties  of  our  republic.  It  was  insisted,  too,  that  the 
fitting  out  of  naval  armaments  would  require  a  pecuniary 
expenditure,  which  the  people  were,  by  no  means,  pre- 
pared to  meet,  and  that  it  was  in  vain  for  us  to  think  of 
contending  with  the  maritime  force  of  Great  Britain, 
whose  fleets  covered  the  ocean,  like  wide-extended  cities. 
The  great  champions  of  the  navy  were  Clay,  Cheves, 
and  Lowndes,  each  of  whom  spoke  with  an  eloquence  that 
thrilled  the  hearts  of  the  audience  like  a  tone  of  prophecy. 
The  speech  of  Mr.  Clay,  in  particular,  deserves  to  be 
treasured  up  as  a  text-book,  from  which  nations,  in  their 
infancy,  may  draw  wise  and  practical  lessons  of  naval 
policy. 

In  the  prosecution  of  his  argument,  Mr.  C.  described 
three  different  degrees  of  naval  force,  and  considered  each 


HENRY  CLAY.  75 

of  them  in  reference  to  the  necessities  and  the  pecuniary 
ability  of  the  United  States.  The  first  was  a  force  that 
should  enable  vis  to  go  boldly  forth  upon  every  sea  and 
ocean,  and  bid  defiance  to  the  largest  fleets  of  a  belligerent 
power,  wherever  they  might  be  encountered.  Such  a 
force,  he  admitted,  it  would  be  the  extreme  of  madness 
and  folly  for  our  government  to  think,  at  that  time,  of 
establishing. 

^_  The  second  description  of  force  referred  to  by  Mr.  Clay, 
was  one  which,  without  often  venturing  to  seek  an  enemy 
in  foreign  climes,  should  be  competent  to  beat  off  any 
squadron  or  fleet,  which  Great  Britain,  or  any  other  nation, 
might  attempt  to  station  permanently  upon  our  coast. 
He  shewed,  that  this  might  be  done  by  a  force  equal  to 
one  third  of  that  employed  against  us,  it  being  a  fact 
proved  by  nautical  experience,  that  a  nation  cannot  main- 
tain a  permanent  force  upon  a  distant  station,  without  an 
equal  force  constantly  in  port  for  repairs,  and  another  as 
constantly  on  the  passage.  From  this  he  inferred,  that 
twelve  ships  of  the  line,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  frigates, 
would  enable  us  to  encounter  the  most  formidable  fleet 
which  Great  Britain,  during  the  continuance  of  her  Eu- 
ropean conflict,  could  maintain  in  the  American  waters. 
Such  a  naval  armament,  he  acknowledged,  could  not  be 
looked  for  at  that  time ;  but  he  urged  on  congress  the  poli- 
Tiy  of  making  preparation  for  it,  and  expressed  his  entire 
conviction,  that  the  finances  of  the  country  would  warrant 
its  completion  in  a  few  years.  He  was  not  intimidated  by 
the  boasted  navy  of  the  ocean-queen.  So  great,  he  con- 
tended, was  her  distance  from  us — so  imminent  the  perils 
of  a  squadron  on  a  remote  shore — and  so  numerous  the 
facilities  offered  by  an  extensive  sea-board  to  our  own  ves- 
sels for  annoying  and  evading  an  enemy — that  we  should 
soon  have  the  means  of  providing  a  force,  which  would 


76  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

•   empower  us  to  vindicate  all  our  maritime  rights.     Of  the 

|   truth  of  this  opinion,  which,  at  that  time,  was  in  direct 

/    opposition  to  public  sentiment,  the  country  can  now  judge. 

Our  surprise  has  often  been  excited  to  find  Mr.  Clay's  pre- 

y     dictions  with  regard  to  the  affairs  of  the  nation,  so  unfail- 

\    ingly  supported  by  subsequent  experience.     Whatever  he 

\  has  attempted  to  foretell,  has  been  uniformly  written  down 

1  by  Time  upon  the  page  of  history. 

third  description  of  naval  force  Mr.  Clay  considered 
as  perfectly  within  the  nation's  resources  at  the  time  of 
the  discussion.  This  was  a  force  which  should  enable  us 
to  prevent  any  single  vessel,  of  whatever  magnitude7from 
endangering  our  whole  coasting  trade,  and  laying  our 
chief  cities  under  contribution.  Even  on  this  point  he  "Was 
obstinately  opposed,  but  such  was  the  power  with  which 
he  grappled  the  arguments  of  the  opposition,  that  he  scat- 
tered them  around  him  piece-meal.  That  policy  which 
refuses  to  provide  against  any  dangers  because  it  cannot 
guard  against  all,  he  reprobated  with  strong  and  manly 
indignation.  "  If,"  said  he,  "  we  are  not  able  to  meet  the 
gathered  wolves  of  the  forest,  shall  we  put  up  with  the 
barking  impudence  of  every  petty  cur  that  trips  across  our 
way  ?" 

The  reader  probably  recollects,  that  Mr.  Clay,  in  dis- 
cussing the  right  of  the  general  government  to  occupy 
West  Florida,  proved,  that  the  possession  of  the  country 
was  indispensable  to  the  commerce  of  the  western  states. 
On  the  present  occasion,  he  shewed,  with  equal  clearness, 
that  the  whole  of  this  commerce  would  inevitably  be  sacri- 
ficed, if  all  our  armed  vessels  were  left  in  a  dismantled 
condition.  "  If,"  said  he,  "  there  be  a  point,  more  than 
any  other  in  the  United  States,  demanding  the  aid  of  na- 
val protection,  that  point  is  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi. 
The  population  of  the  whole  western  country  are  depend- 


ant  on  this  single  outlet  for  their  surplus  productions. 
These  productions  can  be  transported  in  no  other  way. 
They  will  not  bear  the  expense  of  a  carriage  up  the  Ohio 
and  Tennessee,  and  across  the  mountains ;  and  the  circuit- 
ous voyage  of  the  Lakes  is  out  of  the  question.  Whilst 
most  other  states  have  the  option  of  numerous  outlets,  so 
that,  if  one  be  closed,  resort  can  be  had  to  others,  the  vast 
population  of  the  western  country  have  no  alternative. 
Close  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  their  export  trade 
is  annihilated.  I  would  call  the  attention  of  my  western 
friends,  especially  my  worthy  Kentucky  friends — from 
whom  I  feel  myself,  with  regret,  constrained  to  differ  on 
this  occasion — to  the  state  of  the  public  feeling  in  that 
quarter,  whilst  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  was  with- 
held by  Spain ;  and  to  the  still  more  recent  period,  when 
the  right  of  depot  was  violated.  The  whole  country  was 
in  commotion,  and,  at  the  nod  of  government,  would  have 
fallen  on  Baton  Rouge  and  New-Orleans,  and  punished 
the  treachery  of  a  perfidious  government.  Abandon  all 
idea  of  protecting,  by  maritime  force,  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  we  shall  have  the  recurrence  of  similar 
scenes.  We  shall  hold  the  inestimable  right  of  the  navi- 
gation of  that  river  by  the  most  precarious  tenure.  The 
whole  commerce  of  the  Mississippi — a  commerce  that  is 
destined  to  be  the  richest  that  was  ever  borne  by  a  single 
stream — is  placed  at  the  mercy  of  a  single  ship  lying  off 
the  Balize  !  Again,  what  is  to  become  of  Cuba  ?  Will 
it  assert  independence,  or  remain  the  province  of  some  Eu- 
ropean power?  In  either  case,  the  whole  trade  of  the 
western  country,  which  must  pass  almost  within  gun-shot 
of  the  Moro  Castle,  is  exposed  to  danger.  It  is  not,  how- 
ever, of  Cuba  I  am  afraid.  I  wish  her  independent.  But 
suppose  England  gets  possession  of  that  valuable  island. 
With  Cuba  on  the  south,  and  Halifax  on  the  north — and 


78  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

the  consequent  means  of  favouring  or  annoying  the  com- 
merce of  particular  sections  of  the  country— will  not  the 
most  sanguine  amongst  us  tremble  for  the  integrity  of  the 
union  ?  If,  along  with  Cuba,  Great  Britain  should  acquire 
East  Florida,  she  will  have  the  absolute  command  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  Can  gentlemen,  particularly  gentlemen 
from  the  western  country,  contemplate  such  possible,  nay, 
probable  events,  without  desiring  to  see,  at  least,  the  com- 
mencement of  such  a  naval  establishment,  as  will  effect- 
ually protect  the  Mississippi?  Let  me  intreat  them  to 
turn  their  attention  to  the  defenceless  situation  of  the  Or- 
leans Territory,  and  to  the  nature  of  its  population.  It  is 
known  that,  whilst  under  the  Spanish  government,  they 
experienced  the  benefit  of  naval  security.  Satisfy  them 
that,  under  the  government  of  the  United  States,  they  will 
enjoy  less  protection,  and  you  disclose  the  most  fatal 
secret." 

/  Having  demonstrated  the  peculiar  importance  of  a  navy 
S^to  the  western  states,  the  orator  proceeded  to  show,  that, 
\  without  it,  no  commerce  could  exist  to  any  extent.  "  A 
marine,"  said  he,  "  is  the  natural,  the  appropriate  guardian 
of  foreign  commerce.  The  shepherd  and  his  faithful  dog 
«ire  not  more  necessary  to  guard  the  flocks  that  browze 
and  gambol  on  the  neighbouring  mountain.  Neglect  to 
provide  the  one,  and  you  must  abandon  the  other.  Sup- 
pose the  expected  war  with  Great  Britain  is  commenced — 
vou  enter  and  subjugate  Canada,  and  she  still  refuses  to 
do  you  justice — what  other  possible  mode  will  remain  to 
operate  on  the  enemy,  but  upon  that  element  where  alone 
you  can  then  come  in  contact  with  him?  And,  if  you  do 
not  prepare  to  protect  there  your  own  commerce,  and  to  as- 
sail his,  will  he  not  sweep  from  the  ocean  every  vessel 
bearing  your  flag,  and  destroy  even  the  coasting  trade  ? 
But,  from  the  arguments  of  gentlemen,  it  would  seem  to 


HENRY  CLAY,  79 

be  questioned,  if  foreign  commerce  is  worth  the  kind  of 
protection  insisted  upon.  What  is  this  foreign  commerce, 
that  has  suddenly  become  so  inconsiderable?  It  has, 
with  very  trifling  aid  from  other  sources,  defrayed  the 
expenses  of  government  ever  since  the  adoption  of  the  pre- 
sent constitution — maintained  an  expensive  and  success- 
ful war  with  the  Indians — a  war  with  the  Barbary  Powers 
— a  quasi  war  with  France — sustained  the  charges  of 
suppressing  two  insurrections,  and  extinguishing  upwards 
of  forty-six  millions  of  the  public  debt.  In  revenue,  it  has, 
since  the  year  1789,  yielded  one  hundred  and  ninety-one 
millions  of  dollars.  During  the  first  four  years  after  the 
commencement  of  the  present  government,  the  revenue 
averaged  only  about  two  millions  annually — during  a  sub- 
sequent period  of  four  years,  it  rose  to  an  average  of  fifteen 
millions  annually,  or  became  equivalent  to  a  capital  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars,  at  an  interest  of  six 
per  cent,  per  annum.  And,  if  our  commerce  is  re-establish- 
ed, it  will,  in  the  course  of  time,  nett  a  sum  for  which  we 
are  scarcely  furnished  with  figures  in  arithmetick. 
Taking  the  average  of  the  last  nine  years — including,  of 
course,  the  season  of  the  embargo — our  exports  average 
upwards  of  thirty-seven  millions  of  dollars,  which  is 
equivalent  to  a  capital  of  more  than  six  hundred  millions 
of  dollars,  at  six  per  cent,  interest,  all  of  which  must  be 
lost,  in  the  event  of  a  destruction  of  foreign  commerce." 

.  It  is  not  surprising,  that  arguments  like  these  prevailed 
over  the  scruples  and  prejudices  of  the  house.  Their  suc- 
cess was  complete.  A  generous  appropriation  was  made, 
and  the  navy  fitted  up  with  all  convenient  despatch.  The 
result  is  familiar  to  the  world.  The  naval  force,  which, 
in  the  beginning  of  1812,  was  hanging,  for  its  very  ex- 
istence, upon  the  energetic  and  vehement  appeals  of  Mr. 
Clay,  became,  in  less  than  two  years,  the  right  arm  of  our 


80  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

country,  and  the  chastiser  of  our  giant  foe.  Its  power 
broke  upon  that  foe,  like  a  burst  from  an  unseen  cloud ; 
and,  where  its  battle-thunders  fell,  his  strength  was  shiver- 
ed like  an  untempered  spear.  The  shout  of  "  Victory  !" 
"  Victory !"  was  wafted  from  Erie  and  Michigan — and, 
from  the  remote  waters  of  the  Atlantick  and  Pacifick,  were 
borne  back  the  echoes  of  "  Victory !"  "  Victory !"  Our 
commerce,  thus  nobly  protected,  has  swept  in  triumph 
over  the  ocean,  and  made  its  waters  the  source  of  a  more 
priceless  treasure,  than  if,  like  the  waves  of  the  fabled 
Pactolus,  they  swept  over  sands  of  golden  jewelry. 

The  discussion  of  the  navy  bill  took  place  in  January, 
1812.  After  the  passage  of  the  bill,  various  debates,  some 
of  great,  and  others  of  less  importance,  occurred  on  the  sub- 
ject of  our  relations  with  Great  Britain,  and,  in  all  of  them, 
Mr.  Clay  was  the  champion  and  the  guide  of  the  demo- 
cratic party.  No  difficulties  could  weary  or  withstand  his 
energies.  He  moved  in  majesty,  for  he  moved  in  strength. 
Like  the  Carthagenian  chief  in  the  passage  of  the  Alps, 
he  kept  his  place  in  front  of  his  comrades,  putting  aside, 
with  a  giant  effort,  every  obstacle  that  opposed  his  pro- 
gress, applauding  the  foremost  of  his  followers,  and  rousing 
those  who  lingered,  bywords  of  encouragement  or  reproach, 
till  he  succeeded  in  posting  them  upon  a  moral  eminence, 
from  which  they  could  look  down  upon  the  region,  where 
their  prowess  was  to  meet  with  its  long-expected  reward. 

In  the  latter  part  of  March,  Mr.  Madison  transmitted  a 
message  to  the  two  houses  of  congress,  recommending  *an 
embargo  of  sixty  days.  This  measure  seemed  indispensa- 
ble. So  much  had  been  said,  and  vainly  said,  about  war, 
during  the  last  three  or  four  years,  that,  notwithstanding 
the  warlike  preparations  which  were  now  constantly  going 
forward,  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  be- 
lieved that  it  would  never  take  place.  They  continued 


HENRY  CLAY.  81 

to  send  out  their  unprotected  trading  vessels  upon  the 
ocean,  as  if  looking  forward  to  years  of  uninterrupted 
peace.  Had  war  suddenly  commenced  while  these  ves- 
sels were  abroad,  they  would,  of  course,  have  fallen  an  al- 
most indiscriminate  prey  to  British  cruisers,  and  hence 
the  general  government  deemed  it  expedient  to  prohibit  all 
egress  from  our  ports,  until  the  commerce  of  the  country 
could  be  placed  in  a  condition  of  greater  security. 

The  message  of  the  president  was  discussed  in  the  house 
of  representatives,  in  secret  session,  on  the  first  day  of  April. 
The  injunction  of  secrecy  was  soon  afterwards  removed, 
and  the  proceedings  became  public.  Having  looked  in 
vain  for  a  satisfactory  report  of  the  debate,  we  shall 
transcribe  the  account  of  it  given  us  by  a  distinguished 
friend,  who  was,  at  that  time,  a  member  of  congress,  and, 
like  Mr.  Clay,  an  efficient  supporter  of  the  administration. 

"  During  the  discussion  of  the  policy  of  the  embargo,  I 
was  in  the  house.  I  have  seldom  known  a  debate  con- 
ducted with  greater  ability,  or  with  more  spirit  and  deter- 
mination. Mr.  Clay  took  the  lead  in  support  of  the  em- 
bargo, and  Messrs.  John  Randolph  and  Josiah  Q,uincy  in 
opposition  to  it.  There  was  a  moral-  grandeur  in  the  col- 
lision of  such  minds,  which  I  think  myself  fortunate  in 
having  witnessed. 

"  Mr.  Quincy  was  a  strong-minded  man,  but  relentless 
in  his  hostility  to  Mr.  Madison's  administration,  and  im- 
moderate in  his  prejudices  against  the  embargo.  During 
Mr.  Jefferson's  embargo  of  1807,  some  of  his  constituents 
had  resisted  its  operation,  and  made  an  ineffectual  effort  to 
procure  its  repeal,  by  bringing  the  question  of  its  consti- 
tutionality before  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 

"  Mr.  Q.  professed  to  believe,  that  the  embargo  was  not 
designed  as  a  preparation  for  war,  but  as  a  temporary  re- 
fuge from  the  necessity  of  declaring  it.  He  contended, 


82  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

that,  in  our  unprotected  condition,  it  would  be  folly  to  go 
to  war,  and  that  the  administration  dared  not  be  guilty 
of  it. 

"  An  intimation  had  been  thrown  out  by  some  one,  that 
Mr.  Ct,  in  conjunction  with  one  or  two  other  gentlemen, 
had  sent  off  an  express  on  the  day  preceding  the  reception 
of  the  president's  message,  to  give  information  of  the  proba- 
ble embargo  to  the  citizens  of  New- York,  Philadelphia, 
and  Boston.  He  acknowledged  the  fact,  and  gloried  in  it. 
'  By  anticipating  the  mail,'  said  he,  '  we  have  given  an 
opportunity  to  great  masses  of  our  property  to  escape  from 
the  ruin  our  cabinet  is  meditating  for  them — ay,  to  escape 
into  the  jaws  of  the  British  Lion  and  the  French  Tiger, 
which  are  places  of  refuge  in  comparison  with  the  grasp 
of  this  Hyena  Embargo.  Look  now  upon  the  river  below 
Alexandria,  and  you  will  see  the  sailors  towing  down 
their  vessels,  as  from  a  pestilence,  against  wind  and  tide, 
anxious  to  escape  from  a  country  which  would  destroy, 
under  pretence  of  preserving  them.'  Mr.  Randolph  spoke  on 
the  same  side,  with  his  characteristick  pungency  and  power, 
and  far  more  than  his  usual  earnestness.  He,  too,  spoke 
of  the  declaration  of  war  as  absurd — as  treasonable — as  an 
act  which  the  general  government,  with  all  its  madness 
and  fatuity,  had  not  the  courage  to  perpetrate.  With  an 
air  of  triumph  he  exclaimed,  '  What  new  cause  have  we 
of  war  !  what  new  cause  of  embargo  !  The  affair  of  the 
Chesapeake  is  settled,  and  no  new  principle  of  blockade  is 
interpolated  in  the  law  of  nations !'  Mr.  Clay  was  a  flame 
.of  fire.  He  had  now  brought  congress  to  the  verge  of 
what  he  conceived  to  be  a  war  for  liberty  and  honour,  and 
'  \  liis  voice,  inspired  by  the  occasion,  rang  through  the  capi- 
tol,  like  a  trumpet-tone  sounding  for  the  onset.  On  the 
subject  of  the  policy  of  the  embargo,  his  eloquence,  like  a 
Roman  phalanx,  bore  down  all  opposition,  and  he  put  to 


HENRY    CLAY.  83 

shame  those  of  his  opponents,  who  flouted  the  government 
alTbeing  unprepared  for  war.  '  Why  is  it,'  he  exclaimed, 
Indignantly,  '  that  we  are  no  better  prepared !  Because 
the  gentlemen  themselves  have  thrown  every  possible  ob- 
stacle in  our  way !  They  have  opposed  the  raising  of  an 
army — the  fitting  out  of  a  naval  armament — the  fortifica- 
tion of  our  frontiers — and  now  talk  of  the  madness  of  en- 
gaging in  a  war,  for  which  we  are  not  prepared!  It  is 
asked,  what  new  cause  of  war?  In  reply,  I  will  ask,  what 
old  cause  of  war  is  avenged  ?  The  affair  of  the  Chesa- 
peake is  settled — but  why?  Tojmralyze  the  spirit  of  the 
•••'iinitry.  Has  Great  Britain  abstained  from  impressing 
our  seamen,  and  depredating  upon  our  property  ?  I  have 
in  my  hands  an  account  of  the  recent  capture  of  the  ship 
Hannibal,  worth,  with  the  cargo,  300,000  dollars,  near  our 
own  coast,  on  a  voyage  to  France.  I  have  no  doubt  but 
that  the  late  Indian  hostilities  on  the  Wabash  were  excited 
by  the  British.  Is  not  this  cause  of  war  V  By  reiterated 
appeals  like  these,  he  wrought  upon  the  feelings  of  Con- 
gress, till  his  spirit  seemed  to  pervade  it  likelml)mmpfe- 
sence ;  and  when  the  question  of  the  embargo  was  taken, 
a  large  portion  of  the  opposition  was  with  him.  The  in- 
telligences around  him  bowed  down  and  did  him  obeisance, 
like  the  sheaves  in  the  vision  of  the  patriarch.  I  scarce 
need  remark  to  one  acquainted  with  the  history  of  that 
period,  that  Mr.  Clay  was  looked  upon  as  the  chief  sup.- 
pprtof  jhe  public  cause^in_Congress.  He  was  considered 
as  sustaining  its  fortunes  upon  his  shoulders." 

Toward  the  close  of  the  session,  Mr.  Clay,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duties  as  speaker,  became '  involved  in  an 
unpleasant  controversy  with  Mr.  Randolph ;  and  the  ex- 
citement produced  by  the  circumstances  at  the  time,  as 
well  as  the  importance  of  the  principles  settled  by  the  dis- 
cussion, entitles  the  affair  to  notice.  On  Thursday,  the 


84  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

28th  of  May,  one  of  Mr.  R.'s  personal  and  political  friends, 
happening  to  be  in  conversation  with  Mr.  Clay,  inquired 
of  him  on  what  day  the  administration  party  would  at- 
tempt a  declaration  of  war.  Mr.  C.,  with  the  frankness 
that  always  marked  his  political  character,  replied,  that 
the  measure  would  probably  be  attempted  on  the  follow- 
ing Monday.  This  intelligence  was  immediately  con- 
veyed to  Mr.  Randolph,  who  rose  in  his  place  the  next 
morning,  and,  after  stating  that  he  had  a  motion  to  make, 
commenced  a  speech  upon  the  subject  of  our  relations 
with  Great  Britain  and  France.  He  had  spoken  but  a 
few  minutes,  when  he  was  called  to  order  by  one  of  the 
members,  on  the  ground  that  there  was  no  motion  before 
the  house.  Mr.  Clay  overruled  the  objection,  as  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph had  signified  his  intention  to  make  a  motion,  and  it 
was  usual  to  admit  prefatory  remarks.  Mr.  R.  resumed 
his  speech,  and,  after  continuing  it  till  it  had  wholly  lost 
its  prefatory  character,  Mr.  Calhoun  interrupted  him  with 
the  observation,  that  the  question  of  war  was  not  before 
the  house,  and  that  he  was,  therefore,  speaking  contrary 
to  rule,  and  without  affording  others  an  opportunity  to 
reply.  Mr.  Bibb,  who  then  occupied  the  speaker's  chair, 
in  the  momentary  absence  of  Mr.  Clay,  decided  that  Mr. 
Randolph  was  in  order.  Mr.  Clay  returned  to  the  chair, 
and,  in  a  few  minutes,  Mr.  Calhoun  again  interrupted  Mr. 
R.,  with  the  demand  that  he  should  submit  to  the  chair 
the  motion  he  intended  to  make.  Mr.  Clay  said,  that  un- 
questionably the7  gentleman  might  be  called  on  to  submit 
his  proposition  in  writing,  because  it  was  the  speaker's 
duty  to  require,  that  the  observations  made  on  the  floor 
should  be  applicable  to  the  subject  in  debate — a  duty  which 
could  not  be  performed,  unless  the  terms  of  the  proposi- 
tion were  known.  Mr.  Randolph  then  said — "my  propo- 
sition is,  that  it  is  not  expedient,  at  this  time,  to  resort  to 


HENRY  CLAY.  85 

a  war  with  Great  Britain."  The  speaker  inquired  if  the 
motion  was  seconded.  Mr.  R.  expressed  his  surprise  that 
a  second,  in  such  a  case,  should  be  required.  The  speaker 
rejoined,  that  every  motion  must  be  seconded  before  it 
could  be  announced  from  the  chair,  and  that  he  should  re- 
quire the  motion  to  be  reduced  to  writing.  "  Then  I  ap- 
peal from  that  decision,"  said  Mr.  Randolph.  The  speak- 
er now  stated  the  grounds  of  his  decision,  and  his  remarks 
were  followed  by  a  general  discussion  upon  the  subject  of 
its  correctness.  On  taking  the  vote,  the  chair  was  sus- 
tained by  a  large  majority.  "  Sir,"  said  Mr.  Randolph, 
"  I  am  compelled  to  submit  my  motion  in  writing  ;  and, 
under  that  compulsion,  I  offer  it."  "  There  is  no  compul- 
sion in  the  case,"  replied  the  speaker:  "because  the  gen- 
tleman may  or  may  not  offer  it,  at  his  option."  The  mo- 
tion was  now  read  from  the  chair,  and  the  speaker  re- 
marked, that  after  a  resolution  was  presented  to  the  house, 
it  was  not  in  order  to  debate  it,  until  the  house  had  agreed 
to  consider  it.  Mr.  Randolph  again  appealed  from  the 
decision  of  the  chair  ;  but  after  a  stormy  debate,  withdrew 
his  appeal,  at  the  suggestion  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Macon. 
The  speaker  next  addressed  the  house  in  vindication  of 
his  course ;  and  when  the  question  was  taken,  whether 
the  house  would  consider  Mr.  Randolph's  resolution,  it 
was  decided  in  the  negative,  by  a  vote  of  72  to  37.  Mr. 
R.  was  now  compelled  to  take  his  seat ;  but  under  the  in- 
fluence of  passion  excited  by  his  defeat,  he  published,  on 
the  following  day,  an  intemperate  address  to  his  constitu- 
ents, telling  them  that  the  freedom  of  speech  in  congress 
was  reduced  to  an  empty  name — that  it  had  been  decided, 
for  the  first  time,  in  the  person  of  their  representative,  that 
the  house  might  refuse  to  hear  a  member  in  hfs  place, 
upon  the  most  momentous  subject,  which  could  be  pre- 
8 


86  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

sented  for  legislative  decision — that  this  was  a  usurpation, 
more  flagitious  than  any  which  had  ever  been  practised 
under  the  reign  of  terror,  by  the  father  of  the  sedition 
laws — and,  that  the  people  must  interfere,  and  apply  a  re- 
medy, or  bid  adieu  to  a  free  government  forever.  On  the 
appearance  of  this  singular  document,  Mr.  Clay  promptly 
replied  to  it,  in  a  communication,  under  his  own  name,  to 
the  editors  of  the  government  paper  at  Washington.  He 
stated,  in  this  communication,  that  two  principles  had  been 
settled  by  the  decisions,  of  which  Mr.  Randolph  corn- 
plained  ;  in  the  first  place,  that  the  house  nad  a  right  to 
know,  through  its  organ,  the  specific  motion  which  a  mem- 
ber intended  making,  before  he  undertook  to  argue  it  at 
large;  and,  m  the  second  place,  that  it  reserved  to  itself 
the  exercise  of  the  power  of  determining,  whether  it  would 
consider  the  motion  at  the  particular  time  when  offered. 
So  completely  overmastering  was  his  defence  of  these 
principles — so  inescapable  his  refutation  of  his  opponent's 
arguments,  and  so  perfect  his  demonstration  of  the  impro- 
priety of  Mr.  Randolph's  conduct,  in  attempting  to  antici- 
pate the  will  of  the  house,  by  discussing  publickly  a  sub- 
ject which  he  knew  was  to  be  considered  in  secret  session, 
that  Mr.  R.,  fond  as  he  was  of  disputation,  and  bitter  as 
he  was  known  to  be  in  his  enmity  to  Mr.  Clay,  made  an 
awkward  retreat  from  the  controversy.  The  principles 
that  were  here  established  by  Mr.  Clay,  have  been  consi- 
dered authoritative ;  and  no  subsequent  attempt  has  ever 
been  made,  to  deprive  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
right  of  regulating  its  own  proceedings,  and  force  it,  con- 
trary to  its  will,  to  listen,  by  the  hour,  to  the  whimsical  or 
irregular  remarks  of  a  disordered  or  obstinate  individual. 

The  «declaration  of  war  did  not  take  place  on  the  Mon- 
day following  the  collision  between  Mr.  Clay  and  Mr. 
Randolph,  as  had  been  anticipated  by  Mr.  C.  and  his 


HENRY   CLAY.  87 

friends.  The  act  of  declaration  was  passed  in  the  house 
on  the  18th  of  June,  and  the  president's  proclamation  of 
the  actual  existence  of  war,  bears  date  of  the  19th.  The 
long-expected  step  was  now  taken.  Our  country  had,  for 
years,  contended,  in  vain,  against  the  tyranny  of  her  foe, 
and,  at  last,  like  the  ancient  Gaul,  she  threw  her  sword 
into  the  scale. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF 


SECTION  SECOND. 

THE  next  session  of  congress  commenced  on  the  second 
day  of  November,  1812,  and  the  president,  in  his  annual 
message  to  the  two  houses,  gave  a  rapid  sketch  of  the 
events  which  had  taken  place  during  the  recess.  No 
means  of  establishing  an  honourable  peace  had  been  left 
untried  by  the  American  government.  Within  a  single 
week  after  the  declaration  of  war,  Mr.  Monroe,  then 
secretary  of  state,  wrote  to  Mr.  Jonathan  Russell,  the 
American  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  authorising 
him  to  agree  to  an  armistice  with  the  British  government, 
on  condition  that  the  orders  in  council  should  be  repealed, 
and  the  impressment  of  our  seamen  discontinued.  Short- 
ly afterwards,  Mr.  Russell  was  empowered  to  stipulate  for 
an  armistice  in  general  terms,  without  insisting  upon  an 
express  agreement  with  regard  to  the  chief  points  in  con- 
troversy. His  propositions  were  promptly  rejected — reject- 
ed, too,  with  a  sneer  at  our  country,  as  being  already  sick 
of  war.  The  enemy  refused  to  treat  with  us,  unless,  as  a 
preliminary  step,  we  would  recall  our  letters  of  marque 
and  reprisal,  and  give  orders  for  the  suppression  of  all  acts 
of  hostility  against  British  subjects  and  British  property. 
Such  a  humiliation,  though  demanded  by  the  clamours  of 
a  portion  of  the  federal  party,  was  not  to  be  thought  of, 
and,  in  order  to  prosecute  the  war  with  vigour,  the  presi 
dent  suggested,  in  his  message,  the  expediency  of  raising 
an  additional  military  force.  Such  a  measure  seemed 
now  indispensable.  An  army  under  General  Hull,  who, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  was  commissioned  to 
make  an  attack  upon  the  British  provinces,  had  surrender- 
ed to  an  inferior  force,  under  circumstances  which  strongly 


HEKRY   CLAY,  8$ 

1>etokened  either  cowardice  or  treachery.  This  event  had 
temporarily  deprived  us  of  the  means  of  carrying  the  war 
into  Canada,  and  thrown  a  partial  gloom  over  the  spirit  of 
the  country,  notwithstanding  our  brilliant  successes  upon 
the  ocean,  and  the  glory  which  had  crowned  the  American 
arms  at  Queenstown. 

Agreeably  to  the  suggestions  of  the  executive,  the  mili- 
I  tary  committee  of  the  house  of  representatives  reported  a 
I  bill,  on  the  24th  of  December,  for  raising  an  additional 
^  force  of  twenty  thousand  men.  In  the  debate  upon  this 
bill,  the  supporters  and  opposers  of  the  war  rallied  all  their 
strength  against  each  other,  and  discussed  the  general 
condition  of  the  nation,  and  the  whole  policy  of  the 
American  government.  Few  political  conflicts  were  ever 
more  deeply  interesting,  whether  we  consider  the  talent 
and  character  of  the  combatants,  or  the  magnitude  of  the 
question  upon  which  their  rival  powers  were  exerted.  It 
depended  on  the  issue  of  that  conflict,  whether  the  general 
government  should,  in  the  hour  of  trial,  be  deserted  by  the 
nation,  and  compelled  to  make  a  disgraceful  peace,  or  fur- 
nished with  the  means  of  prosecuting  the  war  with  energy 
and  might,  and  extorting  just  and  honourable  terms  from 
our  haughty  foe.  It  was  an  encounter  of  intellect  with 
intellect — a  grappling  of  mind  with  mind — such  as  could 
not  be  contemplated  without  a  noble  swelling  of  the  soul, 
even  though  it  was  known,  that  the  issue  of  the  struggle 
might  be  a  nation's  infamy. 

It  would  seem  as  if,  after  the  declaration  of  war  had 
been  actually  made,  and  the  clash  of  bayonets,  the  ringing 
of  swords,  and  the  death-roar  of  artillery,  had  been  borne 
\rpon  the  gale,  all  classes  of  American  citizens — whatever 
had  been  their  original  feelings  and  predilections — would 
have  united  to  bring  the  conflict  to  an  honourable  termi 
nation.  Such  was  not  the  case.  The  enemies  of  the  ad 


90  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

ministration  had  predicted  defeat  and  disgrace,  and  they 
appeared  willing  to  establish  their  reputation  as  soothsay- 
ers at  the  expense  of  their  country — willing  to  barter  the 
vast  expansion  of  renown,  that  had  been  bequeathed  them 
by  the  fathers  of  American  Independence,  for  the  gratifica- 
tion of  their  own  partisan  prejudices  and  resentments. 

The  increase  of  the  army  was  opposed  by  Messrs, 
(iuincy,  Randolph,  Pitkin,  and  ten  or  twelve  other  gentle- 
men, with  a  strength,  spirit,  and  perseverance,  that  would 
have  borne  any  ordinary  antagonist  to  the  earth.  Mr. 
Gluincy,  as  in  the  case  of  the  embargo,  was  probably  the 
strongest  man  in  the  opposition,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  Mr.  Randolph,  certainly  the  most  violent  and  abusive. 
His  remarks,  as  recorded  in  the  journals  of  congress, 
transgressed  the  utmost  limits  tof  the  venial  freedom  of 
debate.  Were  it  not  that  he  has  since  evinced  his  integri- 
ty of  purpose,  by  a  life  devoted  to  the  great  objects  of  vir- 
tue and  patriotism,  those  who  remember  his  course  in 
1812,  when  he  raised  a  parricidal  hand  against  his  coun- 
try, would  be  ready  to  brand  him  as  a  traitor.  It  is  al- 
most wonderful,  that  the  Genius  of  American  Liberty, 
assailed  as  she  was  at  that  day,  by  her  own  gifted  sons, 
had  not  muffled  up  her  face,  like  the  ancient  Roman  at 
the  base  of  Pompey's  statue,  and  sunk  down,  the  heart- 
broken and  unresisting  victim  of  treachery. 

Mr.  Q,uincy,  in  his  attack  upon  the  democratic  members 
of  the  house — those  who  were  advocates  for  supporting 
the  v.-ar — forgot,  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  every 
feeling  of  decorum  and  gentlemanly  respect.  He  de- 
scribed them  as  "  young  politicians,  with  the  pin-feathers 
yet  unshed,  and  the  shell  still  sticking  upon  them — per- 
fectly unfledged,  though  they  fluttered  and  cackled  upon 
the  floor  of  congress — bloodhound-mongrels,  who  were 
kept  in  pay  to  hunt  down  all  that  opposed  the  court — a 


HENRY    CLAY.  91 

pack  of  mangy  dogs  of  recent  importation — their  backs 
still  sore  with  the  stripes  of  European  castigation,  and 
their  necks  marked  with  the  check  collar."  Again  he 
spoke  of  them  as  "  sycophants,  fawning  reptiles,  who 
crawled  at  the  feet  of  the  president,  and  left  their  filthy 
slime  upon  the  carpet  of  the  palace." 

Mr.  Clay's  castigation  of  Mr.  Quincy  for  these  disgust- 
ing and  unprovoked  personalities,  was  terrible — its  parallel 
can  scarce  be  found  in  the  history  of  congressional  en- 
counter. The  time  demanded  that  the  reproaches  of  the 
opposition  should  be  cast  back  upon  them,  and  Mr.  C.  se- 
lected their  champion  as  the  peculiar  object  of  retributive 
justice.  Much  as  Mr.  Q,.  had  been  reprobated  for  his  li- 
centious denunciations  of  his  opponents,  both  friends  and 
enemies  were  ready  to  pity  him  for  the  severity  of  his 
punishment.  The  flame  descended  upon  his  defenceless 
head,  and, 

"  Like  the  tall  pine  by  lightnings  riven," 

he  shewed  the  marks  of  its  blastings.  It  is  due  to  his  re- 
putation to  add,  that  he  became  so  heartily  ashamed  of 
the  personalities  by  which  his  punishment  had  been  pro- 
voked, that  he  procured  the  suppression  of  some  of  them, 
and  the  mitigation  of  others,  in  the  printed  copies  of  his 
speech. 

In  the  course  of  his  remarks,  Mr.  Q,.  assailed,  with  bit- 
ter invective,  the  character  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  Mr.  Clay's 
panegyric  upon  that  exalted  man — the  man  from  whom 
he  had  learned  his  own  political  principles — is  so  eloquent 
and  beautiful,  that,  although  it  was  not  immediately  con- 
nected with  the  principal  theme  of  discussion,  it  deserves 
to  be  recorded  and  remembered.  The  star  of  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son's fame  had  reached  its  glorious  culmination — but  men 


92  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

were  not  wanting  to  attempt  to  dim  its  brightness  with  the 
murky  vapours  of  their  own  pestilential  breath. 

"  Neither  his  retirement  from  public  office,  his  eminent 
services,  nor  his  advanced  age,  can  exempt  this  patriot 
from  the  coarse  assaults  of  party  malevolence.  In  1801, 
he  snatched  from  the  rude  hand  of  usurpation  the  vio- 
lated constitution  of  his  country,  and  that  is  his  crime. 
He  preserved  that  instrument  in  form,  and  substance,  and 
spirit,  a  precious  inheritance  for  generations  to  come,  and 
for  this  he  can  never  be  forgiven.  How  vain  and  impo- 
tent is  party  rage,  directed  against  such  a  man  !  He  is 
not  more  elevated  by  his  lofty  residence  upon  the  summit 
of  his  own  favourite  mountain,  than  he  is  lifted  by  the 
serenity  of  his  rnind,  and  the  consciousness  of  a  well-spent 
life,  above  the  malignant  passions  and  bitter  feelings  of 
the  day.  No!  his  own  beloved  Monticello  is  not  less 
moved  by  the  storms  that  beat  against  its  sides,  than  is 
this  illustrious  man,  by  the  howlings  of  the  whole  British 
pack,  set  loose  from  the  Essex  kennel !  When  the  gentle- 
man, to  whom  I  have  been  compelled  to  allude,  shall  have 
mingled  his  dust  with  that  of  his  abused  ancestors,  when 
he  shall  have  been  consigned  to  oblivion,  or,  if  he  lives  at 
nil,  shall  live  only  in  the  treasonable  annals  of  a  certain 
junto,  the  name  of  Jefferson  will  be  hailed  with  gratitude, 
his  memory  honoured  and  cherished  as  the  second  founder 
of  the  liberties  of  the  people,  and  the  period  of  his  adminis- 
tration will  be  looked  back  to,  as  one  of  the  happiest  and 
brightest  epochs  of  American  history — an  Oasis  in  the 
midst  of  a  sandy  desert.  But  I  beg  the  gentleman's  par- 
don ;  he  has  indeed  secured  to  himself  a  more  imperisha- 
ble fame  than  I  had  supposed  ;  I  think  it  was  about  four 
years  ago,  that  he  submitted  to  the  house  of  representatives 
an  initiative  proposition  for  an  impeachment  of  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son. The  house  condescended  to  consider  it.  The  gen- 


HENRY   CLAY.  93 

tleman  debated  it  with  his  usual  temper,  moderation,  and 
urbanity.  The  house  decided  upon  it  in  the  most  solemn 
manner,  and,  although  the  gentleman  had  somewhere  ob- 
tained a  second,  the  final  vote  stood,  one  for,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  seventeen  against,  the  proposition  !  The  same 
historick  page  that  transmitted  to  posterity  the  virtue  and 
the  glory  of  Henry  the  Great  of  France,  for  their  admira- 
tion and  example,  has  preserved  the  infamous  name  of  the 
frantick  assassin  of  that  excellent  monarch.  The  same  sa- 
cred pen  that  portrayed  the  sufferings  and  the  crucifixion 
of  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  has  recorded,  for  universal  exe- 
cration, the  name  of  him  who  was  guilty,  not  of  betray- 
ing his  country,  but  (a  kindred  crime)  of  betraying  his 
God." 

The  prediction  as  to  the  feeling  with  which  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son's services  would,  in  future  years,  be  remembered,  is 
already  verified.  A  nation's  blessing  is  resting,  like  a 
beautiful  diadem,  upon  his  name.  It  is  true,  that  some 
have  spoken  reproachfully  of  his  memory,  even  since  the 
time  when,  as  if  by  a  miracle,  he  was  gathered,  with  a 
fellow  patriarch,  to  his  fathers,  on  the  day  which  their 
united  exertions  had  rendered  the  holiest  in  the  American 
calendar.  It  is  as  if  the  uncircumcised  Philistines  had 
assembled  under  the  fiery  chariot  of  the  Prophet,  and 
howled  their  curses  after  him,  while  he  was  ascending  into 
the  bosom  of  his  God. 

Mr.  Clay's  remarks  upon  these  incidental  topics  of  Mr, 
Q,uincy's  speech,  were  merely  a  prelude  to  the  bursts  of 
eloquence  that  were  to  follow — the  trickling  of  the  drop 
ere  the  breaking  of  the  fountain.  When  he  came  to  speak 
of  the  critical  situation  of  the  country — of  the  power  and 
spirit  of  our  enemy — of  the  empyrean  glory  won  for  us  in 
the  days  of  the  revolution,  by  those  who  poured  out  their 
life-blood  like  rain  as  a  sacrifice  to  liberty — of  the  concen 


94  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

trated  energies  which  were  demanded  for  the  maintenance 
of  our  honour  and  our  rights — and  of  the  degradation  that 
would  ever  afterwards  cling  to  us  like  a  leprosy,  if  we 
yielded  to  the  insolent  and  despotick  requisitions  of  Great 
Britain — the  house  was  electrified  by  his  thrilling  and 
passionate  appeals.  He  spoke  like  a  man  conscious  of 
his  responsibility  to  the  nation.  At  his  bidding,  the  lurid 
cloud  of  war  had  closed  over  the  land,  and  it  now  be- 
longed to  him  to  teach  his  countrymen  to  breast  the  storm. 
He  heard  the  voice  of  ages  calling  aloud  upon  his  name, 
and  his  great  spirit  was  stirred  within  him  at  the  sound. 
No  obstacle  could  successfully  oppose  him.  His  eloquence 
was  a  torrent-flood,  sometimes  rolling  on  in  unobstructed 
magnificence,  and  then  foaming,  and  roaring,  and  dashing 
through  the  severed  mountain,  while,  ever  and  anon,  the 
beautiful  flashes  of  fancy  and  imagination  shone  up,  amid 
the  majestic  manifestations  of  intellect  and  passion, 

"  Like  a  bright  Iris  o'er  the  boiling  surge." 

It  has  been  said  by  those  who  listened  to  Mr.  C.'s  speech, 
that  his  sarcasm  upon  the  federalists  was  overwhelming. 
Every  federal  eye  was  bent  in  shame  upon  the  floor,  and 
the  effect  upon  the  party  is  represented  to  have  been  per- 
manent and  salutary.  The  report  that  has  been  given  of 
this  portion  of  his  remarks,  is  very  imperfect,  and  it  is  ut- 
terly impossible,  without  having  heard  them,  to  form  an 
adequate  idea  of  their  pungency.  The  sarcastic  tone,  the 
withering  look,  and  the  scornful  gesture — these  have 
passed  away  with  the  occasion,  and  cannot  be  imagined 
by  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  the  manner  of  the 
orator. 

"  The  course  of  that  opposition  by  which  the  administriv- 
tion  of  the  government  has  been  unremittingly  impeded 
for  the  last  twelve  years,  is  singular,  and,  I  believe,  unex- 


HENRY    CLAY.  95 

ampled  in  the  history  of  any  country.  The  administra- 
tion has  not  been  forgetful  of  its  solemn  obligations.  No 
art  has  been  left  unessayed — no  experiment,  promising  a 
favourable  result,  left  untried — to  maintain  the  peaceful 
relations  of  the  country.  When,  some  six  or  seven  years 
ago,  the  affairs  of  the  nation  assumed  a  threatening  as- 
pect, a  partial  non-importation  was  adopted.  As  they 
grew  more  alarming,  an  embargo  was  imposed.  It  would 
have  accomplished  its  purpose,  but  it  was  sacrificed  upon 
the  altar  of  conciliation.  Vain  and  fruitless  attempt  to 
propitiate !  Then  came  along  the  non-intercourse ;  and  a 
general  non-importation  followed  in  the  train.  In  the 
mean  time,  any  indications  of  a  return  to  the  public  law 
and  the  path  of  justice,  on  the  part  of  either  belligerent, 
are  seized  upon  with  avidity  by  the  administration — the 
arrangement  with  Mr.  Erskine  is  concluded.  It  is  first 
applauded,  and  then  censured  by  the  opposition.  No 
matter  with  what  unfeigned  sincerity,  with  what  real  ef- 
fort, the  administration  cultivates  peace,  the  opposition  in- 
sist, that  it  alone  is  culpable  for  every  breach  that  is  made 
between  the  two  countries.  Restriction  after  restriction 
has  been  tried — negotiation  has  been  resorted  to,  until  fur- 
ther negotiation  would  have  been  disgraceful.  Whilst 
these  peaceful  experiments  are  undergoing  a  trial,  what  is 
the  conduct  of  the  opposition  ?  They  are  the  champions 
of  war — the  proud,  the  spirited,  the  sole  repository  of  the 
nation's  honour — the  men  of  exclusive  vigour  and  ener- 
gy. The  administration,  on  the  contrary,  is  weak,  feeble, 
lind  pusillanimous — '  incapable  of  being  kicked  into  a 
war.1  The  maxim,  '  not  a  cent  for  tribute,  millions  for 
defence,'  is  loudly  proclaimed.  Is  the  administration  for 
negotiation  ?  The  opposition  is  tired,  sick,  disgusted  with 
negotiation.  They  want  to  draw  the  sword  and  avenge 
the  nation's  wrongs.  When,  however,  foreign  nations, 


90  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

perhaps  emboldened  by  the  very  opposition  here  made, 
refuse  to  listen  to  the  amicable  appeals  which  have  been 
repeated  and  reiterated  by  the  administration  to  their  jus 
tice  and  to  their  interests — when,  in  fact,  war  with  one  of 
them  has  become  identified  with  our  existence  and  our 
sovereignty,  and  to  abstain  from  it  was  no  longer  possible, 
behold  the  opposition  veering  round,  and  becoming  the 
friends  of  peace  and  commerce.  They  tell  you  of  the  ca- 
lamities of  war — its  tragical  events — the  squandering  away 
of  your  resources — the  waste  of  the  public  treasure,  and 
the  spilling  of  innocent  blood — '  Gorgons,  hydras,  and 
chimeras  dire.'  They  tell  you,  that  honour  is  an  illusion ! 
Now  we  see  them  exhibiting  the  terrifick  forms  of  the  roar- 
ing king  of  the  forest.  Now  the  meekness  and  humility 
of  the  lamb  !  They  are  for  war  and  no  restrictions,  when 
the  administration  is  for  peace.  They  are  for  peace  and 
restrictions,  when  the  administration  is  for  war.  You 
find  them  tacking  with  every  gale,  displaying  the  colours 
of  every  party  and  of  all  nations,  steady  only  in  one  un- 
alterable purpose,  to  steer,  if  possible,  into  the  haven  of 
power." 
S  Mr.  Clay's  remarks  upon  the  subject  of  the  impressment 

/  of  American  seamen  by  Great  Britain,  constitute  one  of 
the  finest  appeals  in  the  language,  and  have  been  extcn- 

Vsively  admired.  It  appears  that,  in  1776,  congress  passed 
a  bill  in  favour  of  furnishing  our  seamen  with  certificates 
of  citizenship,  to  prevent  their  being  mistaken  for  British 
subjects, 

"  We  are  told  by  gentlemen  in  the  opposition,  that  go- 
vernment has  not  done  all  that  was  incumbent  on  it  to  do, 
to  avoid  just  cause  of  complaint  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain ;  that,  in  particular,  the  certificates  of  protection 
authorized  by  congress,  are  fraudulently  used.  Sir,  go- 
vernment has  done  too  much  in  granting  those  paper  pro- 


HENRY    CLAY.  97 

Actions.  I  can  never  think  of  them  without  being  shock- 
ed. They  resemble  the  passes  which  the  master  grants  to 
his  negro  slave,  '  let  the  bearer,  Mungo,  pass  and  repass, 
without  molestation.'  What  do  they  imply?  That 
Great  Britain  has  a  right  to  seize  all  who  are  not  provi- 
ded with  them.  From  their  very  nature,  they  must  be 
liable  to  abuse  on  both  sides.  If  Great  Britain  desires  a 
mark  by  which  she  can  know  her  own  subjects,  let  her 
give  them  an  ear  mark.  The  colours  that  float  from  the 
mast  head,  should  be  the  credentials  of  our  seamen.  It  is 
impossible  that  this  country  should  ever  abandon  the  gal- 
lant tars  who  have  won  for  us  such  splendid  trophies. 
Let  me  suppose,  that  the  Genius  of  Columbia  should  visit 
one  of  them  in  his  oppressor's  prison,  and  attempt  to  recon- 
cile him  to  his  forlorn  and  wretched  condition.  She 
would  say  to  him,  in  the  language  of  gentlemen  on  the 
other  side,  '  Great  Britain  intends  you  no  harm  ;  she  did 
not  mean  to  impress  you,  but  one  of  her  own  subjects; 
having  taken  you  by  mistake,  I  will  remonstrate,  and  try 
to  prevail  on  her,  by  peaceable  means,  to  release  you,  but 
I  cannot,  my  son,  fight  for  you.'  If  he  did  not  consider 
this  mere  mockery,  the  poor  tar  would  address  her  judge- 
ment, and  say,  '  You  owe  me,  my  country,  protection ;  I 
owe  you,  in  return,  obedience.  I  am  no  British  subject — I 
am  a  native  of  old  Massachusetts,  where  live  my  aged 
father,  my  wife,  my  children.  I  have  faithfully  dis- 
charged my  duty.  Will  you  refuse  to  do  yours  ?'  Ap- 
pealing to  her  passions,  he  would  continue,  '  I  lost  this 
eye  in  fighting  under  Truxton,  with  the  Insurgente;  I 
got  this  scar  before  Tripoli;  [  broke  this  leg  on  board  the 
Constitution,  when  the  Guerrier  struck.'  "  There  was 
something  in  the  impassioned  gesture  and  pathetick  tone 
of  utterance  which  distinguished  this  appeal,  that  the 


98  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

feeling  which  dictated  it  passed  from  man  to  man,  as  if 
one  mysterious  chain  of  sympathy  connected  every  bosom. 
The  editor  of  the  National  Intelligencer  declares,  that 
the  pathetick  effect  produced  by  the  appeal,  admits  not 
of  description.  Although  the  day  was  extremely  cold, 
so  cold  that  Mr.  Clay,  for  the  only  time  in  his  life,  was 
unable  to  keep  himself  warm  by  the  exercise  of  speaking, 
there  were  few  individuals  in  the  house  who  did  not  bear 
witness,  by  their  streaming  eyes,  to  the  orator's  control 
over  their  sensibilities.  Members  of  both  political  parties 
— men  whose  patriotick  souls  had  been  sustained  by  his 
eloquence,  and  those  who  had  been  writhing  and  ago- 
nizing under  his  indignation — forgot  their  antipathies  and 
wept  together.  This  has  always  been  one  of  Mr.  C.'s  re- 
markable powers.  He  is  such  a  perfect  master  of  the  lan- 
guage, tone,  and  look  of  passion,  he  addresses  himself  to 
the  deeper  feelings  with  such  mysterious  skill, 

"  Untwisting  all  the  chains  that  tie 
The  hidden  soul  of  sympathy," 

that  opposing  spirits  feel  the  influence  of  his  power,  and, 
"  like  kindred  drops,  are  mingled  into  one." 

The  principal  point  upon  which  the  federalists  insisted, 
in  thei  •  opposition  to  the  army  bill,  was  the  injustice  and 
impolicy  of  invading  Canada — the  object  for  which  the 
additional  military  force  was  proposed  to  be  made.  Mr. 
Quinc}  contended,  at  great  length,  that  to  attack  the  Ca- 
nadians would  be  wanton,  senseless,  and  cruel — that  these 
people  and  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  had  lived  in 
the  constant  reciprocation  of  friendly  and  tender  offices — 
that,  as  enemies,  we  had  nothing  to  fear  from  them — that 
to  grasp  at  their  possessions  for  the  offences  of  Great  Bri- 


HENRY   CLAY.  99 

tain,  would  be  an  act  worthy  only  of  politicians  who  wor- 
shipped in  the  temple  where  Condorcet  was  priest,  and 
Machiavel,  God — that  the  defeat  of  our  armies  was  ce- 
lestial glory  in  comparison  with  it — and  that  the  yeoman- 
ry of  the  country  would  listen  to  the  winding  of  the  horn, 
that  should  call  them  on  such  an  expedition,  with  as  much 
apathy  as  they  would  hear  the  music  of  a  banjoo  or  a 
jews-harp. 

To  these  considerations  Mr.  Clay  replied  with  great 
force,  and  with  complete  triumph.  "  Canada,"  exclaimed 
he,  "  innocent !  Canada  unoffending !  Is  it  not  in  Cana- 
da, that  the  tomahawk  of  the  savage  has  been  moulded 
into  its  death-like  form?  Has  it  not  been  from  Canadian 
magazines,  Maiden  and  others,  that  those  supplies  have 
been  issued,  which  nourish  and  continue  the  Indian  hos- 
tilities 1  Supplies,  which  have  enabled  the  savage  hordes 
to  butcher  the  garrison  of  Chicago,  and  to  commit  other 
horrid  excesses  and  murders?  Was  it  not  by  the  joint 
co-operation  of  Canadians  and  Indians,  that  a  remote 
American  fort,  Michilimackinack,  was  assailed  and  re- 
duced, while  in  ignorance  of  a  state  of  war  ?  What  does 
a  state  of  war  present?  The. united  energies  of  one  peo- 
ple arrayed  against  the  combined  energies  of  another — a 
conflict,  in  which  each  party  aims  to  inflict  all  the  injury 
it  can,  by  sea  and  land,  upon  the  territories,  property,  and 
citizens  of  the  other,  .subject  only  to  the  rules  of  mitigated 
war  practised  by  civilized  nations.  The  gentleman  would 
not  touch  the  continental  provinces  of  the  enemy,  nor,  I 
presume,  for  the  same  reason,  her  possessions  in  the  West 
Indies.'  The  same  humane  spirit  would  spare  the  seamen 
and  soldiers  of  the  enemy.  The  sacred  person  must  not  be 
attacked,  for  the  learned  gentlemen  on  the  other  side,  are 
quite  familiar  with  the  maxim,  that  the  king  can  do  no 
wrong.  Indeed.  I  know  of  no  person,  on  whom  we  may 


100  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

make  war,  upon  the  principles  of  the  honourable  gentle- 
man, but  Mr.  Stephen,  the  celebrated  author  of  the  Orders 
in  Council,  or  the  board  of  admiralty,  who  authorize  and 
regulate  the  practice  of  impressment !" 

"  An  honourable  peace  is  attainable  only  by  an  efficient 
war.  My  plan  would  be  to  call  out  the  ample  resources 
of  the  country,  give  them  a  judicious  direction,  prosecute 
the  war  with  the  utmost  vigour,  strike  wherever  we  can 
reach  the  enemy,  at  sea  or  on  land,  and  negotiate  the 
terms  of  a  peace  at  Quebec  or  Halifax.  In  such  a  cause, 
with  the  aid  of  Providence,  we  must  come  out  crowned 
with  success ;  but,  if  we  fail,  let  us  fail  like  men,  lash  our- 
selves to  our  gallant  tars,  and  expire  together  in  one  com- 
mon struggle,  righting  for  free  trade  and  seamen's  rights." 

We  have  no  room  for  the  great  body  of  this  speech,  nor 
are  we  willing  to  impair  the  strength  and  force  of  the  main 
argument  by  the  exhibition  of  its  disjointed  parts.  The 
character  of  the  whole  display  can  best  be  learned  from 
its  effects.  These  were  all-powerful.  In  giving  to  con- 
gress new  energies  and  a  new  soul,  the  speech  exerted  al- 
most a  creative  power.  The  opposition  to  the  war  was 
paralyzed,  and  became,  at>  once,  feeble  and  inefficient. 
Bills  for  raising  military  forces  were  passed  without  a  dis- 
senting vote.  A  noble  and  enthusiastick  feeling  was  dif- 
fused throughout  the  countrv.  Publick  opinion  was,  far 
and  wide,  aroused  in  favour  of  the  war,  and  its  majestick 
roar  shook  down  the  unconsecrated  temples  of  treason,  anil 
bared  their  secrets  to  the  light  of  heaven.  Patriot  an- 
swered aloud  to  patriot — the  sentinels  of  freedom  caught 
up  the  watch-word — from  town  to  town  the  signal-fires 
flashed  free — and  all  things  proclaimed,  that  the  spirit  of 
the  country  was  up  for  glory. 

Mr.  Clay  continued  in  congress,  ministering,  on  all  oc- 
casions, to  the  martial  energies  of  his  countrymen,  until 


HENRY  CLAY.  101 

Januar^,  1814,  when,  in  consideration  of  his  matchless 
services,  his  thorough  knowledge  of  American  rights,  and 
the  zeal  he  had  shown  in  their  defence,  he  was  appointed^ 
one  of  the  commissioners  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace.^ 
The  official  duties  which  now  devolved  upon  him,  required 
him  to  resignjthe  speaker's  chair.  At  this  time,  his  influ- 
ence in  the  house  of  representatives  was  equal  to  that  which 
he  had  exercised,  some  years  before,  in  the  legislature  of 
his  adopted  state.  His  friends  and  his  enemies  agree  in 
the  remark,  that  his  power  was  almost  unlimited.  His 
party  was  a  majority  in  the  house,  and,  so  unbounded  was 
the  confidence  which  its  members  reposed  in  his  wisdom 
and  integrity,  that  he  could  sway  them  by  a  motion  of  his 
hand.  Whenever  the  course  of  a  discussion  failed  to  meet 
his  approbation,  he  descended  from  the  chair,  and,  by 
mingling  in  the  debate,  gave,  at  once,  a  new  character  to 
the  proceedings.  His  resignation  was  tendered  on  the 
sixteenth  of  Januarj',  and  accompanied  by  a  beautiful  and 
affecting  speech,  which  touched  every  heart  in  the  Assem- 
bly, and  unsealed  many  a  fountain  of  tears.  In  the  gene- 
rous feelings  of  the  hour,  even  the  federalists  wepl  freely, 
that  a  master-spirit  was  going  out  from  among  them.  A 
resolution,  thanking  him  in  fervid  language  for  the  impar- 
tiality with  which  he  had  administered  the  arduous  duties 
of  office,  was  passed  almost  unanimously — only  eight  or 
nine  members  voting  against  it.  Probably  there  was  no 
other  man  in  the  nation,  who,  at  that  stormy  period,  could 
have  presided  with  such  signal  energy  over  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  popular  branch  of  congress,  and  yet  have 
commanded  the  approbation  of  so  vast  a  majority  of  both 
political  parties. 


BIOGRAPHY    OP 


SECTION  THIRD. 

THE  negotiations'  for  peace,  which  were  commenced  to- 
\vurd  the  close  of  •  IS  13,  had  their  origin,  in  a  proposition 
of  Alexander,  the  emperor  of  Russia,  to  act  as  a  mediator 
bot  ween  the  two  belligerent  powers.  Great  Britain  declined 
the  mediation  of  the  emperor,  alleging,  that  the  causes 
which  had  led  to  the  declaration  of  war,  involved  certain 
maritime  and  internal  regulations  of  the  British  realm, 
which  could  not  properly  be  submitted  to  the  arbitrament 
of  any  foreign  power,  but,  at  the  same  time,  she  expressed 
an  entire  willingness  to  negotiate  directly  with  the  Ameri- 
can Plenipotentiaries,  either  at  London,  or  any  other  con 
vonient  place,  on  which  the  two  governments  might  agree. 
No  objection  was  made  to  this  proposal,  and  our  commis- 
sioners, Henry  Clay,  John  d.  Adams,  James  A.  Bayard, 
Albert  Gallatin,  and  Jonathan  Russell,  were  directed  to  pro- 
ceed to  Gottenburg,  the  place  first  designated,  from  whence 
the  negotiation  was  afterwards  transferred  to^  Ghent,  where 
they  met  the  British  commissioners,  Lord  Gambier,  Henry 
GoulEurri,  and  William  Adams.  At  the  first  intervie. 
negotiation  was  opened  on  the  part  of  the  British  commission- 
•  ers,  by  the  expression  of  an  ardent  desire  for  the  cessation  of 
-hostilities,  and  an  assurance  that  their  government  was 
ready  to  do  every  thing  consistent  with  national  honour, 
for  the  purpose  of  effecting  an  object  so  desirable.  Mr 
ns,  in  behalf  of  the  commissioners  of  the  United 
.!,  and  the  government  under  which  they  acted,  ex- 
.  <A  an  entire  reciprocation  of  these  sentiments,  : 
disposition  to  lay  the  foundation  of  peace,  upon  just  and 
lil)ei  al  grounds. 


t03 


Thepubh  v/ith  the 

of  Mr.  Ci:..  .  other  inci- 
dents of  hi-;  no  one  doubts  tSzS.  lie  carried 

with  him.  >'•  :  try,  the  same 

high-mind; :.  ,.;,  that  have  been 

with  him,  1  i  .  in  every  visible 

part   of  his   •         •  .  on  the  highest 

authority,  that,  ia  l!;e  -  .:jii  took  place 

between  the  ;--.,  as  well  as 
in  those  whi<  I  ,1  to  tha_A>  '^an  commi's- 

pcrformed  by 

Mr.  <J.  .  .jMg-iJfied  by  the 
exceo;:. 

fiuen •:'.-  BD  :  liserj,  and  the 
unco::  •  .ould,  at  all 
times,  call  to  i  /leagues,  Mr. 
Adams,  hud  !>  ind,  for  logical 
acuten.ess,  a «  .  : .1  ick  know- 
ledge, was  pi  Latesman  of  any 
age ;  another  c  ;  a  man  of  great 
and  varied  expe:  -  ute,  subtle,  and 
powerful ;  and  c.  ,n,  during  a 
long  course  of  y-  •  it  debater  in 
the  national  legi;-  ng  the  well- 
established  fame  ,.  v/e  may  be 
allowed  to  say  o.  ,  inur  to  them 
in  oral  deb  to  exercise  a 
controlling  pjv.  .  :^otiations. 

Plural  comi!  i  •  ;.tick  service, 
hre  most  freque*  •  -  dissent ioifll 
among  the  mcml  ..und  in  the  dif- 
ference of  tempc  .  ,:its,  and  in 
those  jealousies  t  len  prone. 
In  the  Ghent  con  .imposed  of 


104  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

an  unusual  number  of  members,  an  extraordinary  degree 
of  harmony  prevailed.  On  account  of  their  remoteness 
from  their  own  country,  and  the  consequent  difficulty  of 
free  and  frequent  intercourse  with  their  government,  they 
laboured  under  a  great- disadvantage,  to  which  the  British 
commissioners  were  not  exposed.  The  former  were  often 
thrown  upon  their  own  responsibility,  and  this  was  espe- 
cially the  case,  when  they  decided,  at  an  early  stage  of 
the  negotiation,  to  reject  the  sine  qua  non  of  the  British 
government— -a  step  which  might  have  led  to  a  rupture  of 
the  negotiation,  and  an  indefinite  protraction  of  the  war. 
Great,  however,  as  was  their  responsibility,  they  did  not 
shrink  from  it.  The  representatives  of  Great  Britain,  on 
the  other  hand,  transmitted  every  important  note  which 
they  received  from  those  of  the  United  States,  to  the  British 
ministry,  and  obtained,  in  substance,  if  not  in  express 
terms,  the  answer  which  they  were  to  return.  Thus  the 
American  representatives  were  treating,  in  fact,  with  the 
whole  British  ministry.  How  honourably  they  acquitted 
themselves,  has  been  decided  by  the  united  voice  of  Eu- 
rope and  America.  Their  superiority  in  the  correspond- 
ence was  admitted  in  the  house  of  lords.  We  do  not 
profess  to  know  by  whom  each  of  the  several  state  pa- 
pers addressed  by  them  to  the  British  plenipotentiaries  was 
written,  but  it  would  be  difficult  for  any  man  to  read  the 
whole  series,  without  being  convinced,  that  the  honoura- 
ble peace,  in  which  the  correspondence  resulted,  is  to  be 
ascribed  almost  as  much  to  the  sagacity  and  fidelity  of  our 
commissioners,  as  to  the  bravery  of  our  soldiers,  and  the 
memorable  exploits  of  our  gallant  mariners.  In  manli- 
ness, strength,  and  classick  purity  of  style,  in  extent  and 
compass  of  disquisition,  and  in  richness  and  felicity  of  il- 
lustration, those  papers  admit  of  a  favourable  comparison 
with  the  best  political  essays  in  the  English  language. 


HENRY  CLAY.  105 

It  is  ziot  within  our  province,  at  this  time,  to  dwell  at 
length  upon  the  debates  which  took  place  at  Ghent  on 
the  various  differences  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain.  The  terms  of  the  peace  are  generally 
understood.  On  one  point  alone,  during  the  progress  of 
the  negotiation,  did  any  serious  division  arise  among  the 
American  commissioners,  and  that  related  to  the  fisheries, 
and  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  river.  As  Mr.  Clay 
was  the  most  prominent  man  in  the  discussion,  and  as  the 
publications,  to  which  it  afterwards  gave  rise,  have  been 
the  occasion  of  much  popular  excitement,  it  is,  perhaps,  our 
duty  to  give  a  concise  statement  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  occurred. 

By  the  third  article  of  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace  of 
1783,  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  it  was 
stipulated  by  the  contracting  parties,  "  that  the  people  of 
the  United  States  should  continue  to  enjoy  unmolested  the 
right  to  take  fish  of  every  kind  on  the  Grand  Bank,  and 
on  all  the  other  banks  of  Newfoundland ;  also,  in  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence,  and  all  other  places  in  the  sea,  where 
the  inhabitants  of  both  countries  had  used  at  any  time  to 
fish ;  and  also,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States 
should  have  liberty  to  take  fish  of  every  kind  on  such  part  of 
the  coast  of  Newfoundland  as  British  fishermen  might  use, 
(but  not  to  dry  or  cure  the  same  on  that  island,}  and  also 
on  the  coasts,  bays,  and  creeks  of  all  other  of  his  Britannick 
majesty's  dominions  in  America ;  and  that  the  American 
fishermen  should  have  .liberty  to  dry  and  cure  fish  in  any 
of  the  unsettled  bays,  harbours,  and  creeks  of  Nova  Scotia, 
Magdalen  Islands,  and  Labrador,  so  long  as  the  same 
might  remain  unsettled;  but,  so  soon  as  the  same,  or  either 
of  them,  should  be  settled,  it  should  not  be  lawful  for  the 
said  fishermen  to  dry  or  cure  fish  at  such  settlement,  without 


106  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

a  previous  agreement  for  that  purpose  with  the  inhabitants, 
proprietors,  or  possessors  of  the  ground." 

By  the  eighth  article  of  the  same  treaty,  the  parties 
further  contracted,  that  "  the  navigation  of  the  river  Mis- 
sissippi, from  its  source  to  the  ocean,  should  ever  remain 
free  and  open  to  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  and  the  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States." 

In  the  treaty  of  1794,  negotiated  by  Mr.  Jay,  it  was  fur- 
ther stipulated,  that  the  river  Mississippi  should,  according 
to  the  previous  treaty  of  peace,  be  entirely  open  to  both 
parties ;  and,  "  that  all  the  ports  and  places  on  its  eastern 
side,  to  whichsoever  of  the  parties  belonging,  might  be 
.freely  resorted  to  and  used  by  both  parties,  in  as  ample  a 
manner  as  any  of  the  Atlantick  ports  or  places  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  or  any  of  the  ports  or  places  of  his  majesty  in 
Great  Britain." 

At  the  date  of  both  these  treaties,  Spain  possessed  the 
sovereignty  of  the  entire  western  side  of  the  Mississippi, 
from  its  mouth  to  its  source;  and  of  both  sides  from  its 
mouth  to  the  thirty-first  degree  of  north  latitude.  From 
that  point  to  the  source  of  the  river,  the  residue  of  the 
eastern  side  belonged  to  the  United  States,  but  an  errone- 
ous opinion  prevailed,  that  the  British  territory  would  in- 
clude a  small  portion  of  the  upper  part  of  it,  when  the  line 
came  to  be  marked  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  as  provi- 
ded in  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace. 

The  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  therefore,  being 
regarded  as  the  sovereigns  of  only  a  part  of  one  bank  of 
the  river,  and  Spain  being  the  exclusive  sovereign  of  its 
mouth,  a  stipulation  for  its  free  navigation  between  the 
two  first-named  parties,  even  allowing  them  all  the  terri- 
tory they  claimed,  could  operate  so  far  only  as  the  con- 
tracting parties  themselves  had  a  right-  to  give  it  effect, 
that  is,  to  the  extent  of  their  respective  territories  border- 


HENRY   CLAY.  107 

ing  on  the  river.  If  they  had  a  right  to  navigate  it  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  Spain,  that  right  could  not  be  founded 
upon  their  compact,  but  upon  the  laws  of  nature,  which 
give  to  nations,  who  inhabit  the  banks  of  the  upper  part  of 
a  river,  the  right  of  free  access  to  and  from  the  ocean,  al- 
though a  different  nation  may  be  the  sovereign  of  the 
mouth  of  the  river. 

The  situation  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
at  the  epoch  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  was  totally  different, 
both  from  what  it  was  in  fact,  and  from  what  it  was  sup- 
posed to  be,  at  the  dates  of  the  treaties  of  1783  and  1794. 
Subsequently  to  this  latter  period,  in  1803,  the  United 
States  acquired  by  treaty  the  province  of  Louisiana,  and, 
consequently,  obtained  all  the  previous  rights  of  Spain  in 
regard  to  the  Mississippi.  Further,  prior  to  the  treaty  of 
Ghent,  it  had  b'een  ascertained,  that  the  British  line,  de- 
signated in  the  treaty  of  1783,  to  run  from  the  Lake  of 
the  Woods  to  the  Mississippi,  would  not  strike  that  river 
at  all,  but  would  pass  above  its  source.  Thus  the  United 
States  were,  at  the  period  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  the  sole 
and  exclusive  proprietors  of  the  river  Mississippi,  from  its 
mouth  to  its  source.  It  being  within  their  jurisdiction 
alone,  Great  Britain  had  now  no  more  right  to  demand 
its  free  navigation,  than  she  had  to  demand  that  of  the 
Hudson,  or  any  other  river  of  the  United  States. 

The  American  government  had  been  informed  prior  to 
the  preparation  of  instructions  for  the  commissioners  at 
Ghent,  that  Great  Britain  intended  to  attempt  our  exclu- 
sion from  the  fisheries ;  and  the  commissioners  were  in- 
structed not  to  allow  our  rights  to  be  brought  into  discus- 
sion. They  were  further  instructed,  not  to  renew  the  sti- 
pulation in  Jay's  treaty,  by  which  each  party  was  allowed 
to  trade  with  the  Indians  inhabiting  the  territory  of  the 
other,  nor  to  grant  to  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  the 


108  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

right  to  the  navigation  of  any  river  exclusively  within 
our  jurisdiction. 

At  an  early  period  of  the  negotiation  at  Ghent,  the  Bri- 
tish notified  the  American  commissioners,  that  they  would 
not  agree,  without  an  equivalent,  to  the  renewal  of  our  li- 
berty to  catch,  and  cure,  and  dry  fish,  within  the  British 
exclusive  jurisdiction ;  but  they  did  not  contest  our  right 
to  fish  on  the  high  seas,  or  'the  .Grand  Bank,  and  other 
banks  o'f  Newfoundland. 

When  the  American  commissioners  were  engaged  in 
preparing  the  project  of  a  treaty  to  be  offered  to  the  other 
party,  a  question,  in  consequence  of  the  above  notifica- 
tion, arose  among  them,  as  to  what  should  be  proposed  in 
regard  to  the  fisheries.  They  appear  to  have  been  divided 
on  the  point,  whether  the  contract  in  relation  to  the  fishe- 
ries, in  the  treaty  of  1783,  expired  with  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war,  or  whether,  from  the  peculiar  nature  of  that 
treaty,  being  one  by  which  an  empire  was  severed,  and  a 
new  power  acknowledged,  the  stipulation  did  not  survive 
the  war.  Mr.  Clay,  and  perhaps  all  the  other  commis- 
sioners except  Mr.  Adams,  believed  that  the  general  rule 
of  the  public  law  applied  to  the  case,  and  that  the  stipu- 
lation ceased  with  the  declaration  of  war.  Mr.  Adams 
entertained  the  contrary  opinion.  All  were,  of  course, 
desirous  that  we  should  not  lose  any  right  or  liberty  which 
we  had  enjoyed  prior  to  the  commencement  of  hostilities ; 
and  it  is  clear  that,  if  the  stipulation  in  question  survived 
the  war,  and  was,  from  its  nature,  imperishable,  no  new 
stipulation  was  necessary  to  its  validity. 

In  consequence,  probably,  of  the  doubt  on  this  subject, 
Mr.  Gallatin  proposed  to  insert,  in  the  project  of  a  treaty, 
an  article,  providing  for  the  renewal,  on  the  one  hand,  of 
the  rights  and  liberties  to  us  in  the  fisheries,  and,  on  the 
other,  of  the  right  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi 


HENRY   CLAY.  109 

to  Great  Britain,  as  had  been  provided  for  in  the  treaty  of 
1783.  To  the  introduction  of  such  an  article  Mr.  Clay 
objected,  and  a  long,  animated,  and  anxious  discussion  en- 
sued, conducted  principally  by  Mr.  Gallatin  on  the  one 
side,  and  Mr.  Clay  on  the  other.  It  is  described  by  Mr.  C. 
in  a  letter  addressed,  in  1822,  to  Jonathan  Russell,  one  of 
the  commissioners,  and  since  published  by  the  latter,  in 
violation  of  the  confidence  (1)  in  which  it  was  addressed 
to  him. 

Finally,  upon  taking  the  vote,  whether  the  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi  should  be  offered  to  Great  Britain,  as 
an  equivalent  for  the  fisheries,  Messrs.  Adams,  Gallatin, 
and  Bayard,  were  in  favour  of  it,  and  Messrs.  Clay  and 
Russell  against  it.  Upon  perceiving  the  state  of  the  vote, 
Mr.  Clay  informed  his  colleagues,  that  he  felt  in  candour 
bound  to  say  to  them,  that  he  would  affix  his  signature  to 
no  treaty  which  contained  such  an  offer.  After  this  de- 
claration, Mr.  Bayard  left  the  majority ;  and,  uniting  with 
Messrs.  Clay  and  Russell,  made  a  majority  against  the 
insertion  of  the  proposed  article,  and  therefore  it  was  not 
inserted. 

The  arguments  which  were  urged  on  this  interesting 
occasion,  are  no  where  stated  at  full  length.  They  can 
only  be  gleaned  from  documents,  inferred  from  the  nature 
of  the  subject,  or  ascertained  from  the  testimony  of  the 
commissioners  themselves. 

We  have  been  informed  by  the  friends  of  the  commis- 
sioners, that  in  behalf  of  the  article  it  was  contended,  that 
the  Americans  ought  not  to  corne  out  of  the  war  with  the 
loss  or  jeopardy  of  any  right  or  liberty,  that  appertained 
to  the  nation  prior  to  its  commencement;  that  it  was,  at 
le,  that  such  would  be  the  fact,  if  the  treaty 

(1)  See  Appendix. 
10 


110  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

were  silent  in  regard  to  the  fisheries;  that,  in  such  case, 
a  powerful  opposition  to  the  general  government  would  be 
furnished  with  a  plausible  pretext  for  abusing  the  admi- 
nistration ;  that  the  right  of  navigation  of  the  Mississippi, 
the  contemplated  equivalent  to  the  British  for  the  grant  to 
us  of  a  right  in  the  fisheries  within  their  exclusive  juris- 
diction, was  one  which  had  not  been,  and  could  not  be, 
used  to  our  prejudice;  that  the  instructions  from  our  go- 
vernment not  to  let  our  right  to  the  fisheries  be  brought 
into  discussion,  related  generally  to  the  whole  affair  of  the 
fisheries,  without  discriminating  between  those  which  ex- 
isted on  the  high  seas,  and  those  within  the  British  exclu- 
sive jurisdiction ;  and  that,  if  the  American  government 
had  received  the  notification  which  had  been  given  to  the 
American  commissioners,  respecting  the  exercise  of  the 
fishing  liberty  within  the  British  jurisdiction,  authority 
would  probably  have  been  given  for  the  article  proposed. 
Mr.  Clay  insisted,  on  the  other  side,  that,  as  the  Missis- 
sippi was  exclusively  within  our  jurisdiction,  the  article 
could  not  be  proposed  without  a  positive  violation  of  the 
instructions  of  government ;  that,  if  the  government  had 
been  acquainted  with  the  notification  given  to  the  Ameri- 
can commissioners,  it  was  by  no  means  certain,  but  highly 
improbable,  that  authority  would  have  been  given  to  re- 
new the  privilege  of  navigating  the  Mississippi,  in  consi- 
deration of  the  renewal  of  our  right  to  the  fisheries ;  that 
there  was  no  connexion  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
fisheries— none  in  the  treaty  of  1783 — none  in  their  na- 
ture— and  they  were  as  remote  from  each  other  in  their 
local  situation,  as  they  were  distinct  in  their  nature ;  that, 
if  Great  Britain  had  not,  prior  to  that  period,  availed  her- 
self of  the  stipulation  in  the  treaties  of  1783  and  1794, 
it  might  have  been  because  of  the  obstacles  presented  by 
Spain,  who  had  denied  the  United  States  the  right  of  na- 


HENRY   CLAY.  Ill 

vigation  until  the  year  1795,  and  shortly  afterward  inter- 
rupted it;  that,  from  the  period  of  1803,  when,  by  the 
treaty  of  Louisiana,  we  acquired  the  incontestible  right  to 
the  navigation,  our  relations  with  Great  Britain  had  been, 
during  a  great  part  of  the  time,  such  as  not  to  admit  ol 
her  enjoying  it ;  that  the  right  to  navigate  the  Mississippi, 
would  give  Great  Britain  free  access  to  the  Indians  of  the 
north-west,  and  we  knew,  by  past  experience,  that  she 
might  exert  an  influence  over  them,  to  annoy  and  harass 
our  frontiers ;  that  it  was  wrong  to  select,  from  all  the  ri- 
vers of  the  United  States,  the  noblest,  and  to  subject  it, 
altogether  within  our  limits,  to  conditions  from  which  all 
others  are  free ;  that  the  United  States,  now,  by  the  acqui 
sition  of  Louisiana,  stood  on  grounds  totally  different 
from  those  which  they  occupied  in  1783  and  1794;  that, 
as  Great  Britain  was  now  known  to  have  no  territory  bor- 
dering on  the  river,  she  could  have  no  pretence  for  asking 
its  navigation,  which  would  not  apply  to  the  Potomac  or 
any  other  American  river,  and  she  could  not  ask  it  but  for 
unfriendly  or  improper  purposes;  that  the  people  of  the 
west  had  always  been  justly  sensitive  to  whatever  related 
to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  would  regard  the 
proposed  article  as  an  unnecessary  sacrifice  of  a  para- 
mount interest  of  theirs,  for  an  object  with  which  it  had 
no  sort  of  connexion ;  that  the  liberty  of  fishing  within 
the  British  jurisdiction  in  question,  was  restricted  and  con- 
tingent— our  fishermen  not  being  at  liberty  to  cure  and 
dry  fish  on  the  island  of  Newfoundland,  or  on  the  unset- 
tled bays,  harbours,  and  creeks  of  Nova-Scotia,  Magdalen 
islands,  and  Labrador,  except  so  long  as  they  remained 
unsettled,  without  the  permission  of  the  inhabitants;  and 
that  it  was  best  for  the  commissioners  to  conform  to  in- 
structions, and  depend  on  future  negotiation. 

It  has  been  already  stated,  that  a  majority,  by  the  ae- 


112  BIOGRAPHY   OP 

cession  of  Mr.  Bayard,  decided  not  to  offer  the  proposed 
article.  In  lieu  of  it,  they  adopted  the  following  clause 
in  their  note  to  the  British  commissioners,  prepared  and 
proposed  by  Mr.  Clay  : 

"  In  answer  to  the  declaration  made  by  the  British  ple- 
nipotentiaries, respecting  the  fisheries,  the  undersigned, 
referring  to  what  passed  in  the  conference  of  the  8th  of 
August,  can  only  state,  that  they  are  not  authorized  to 
bring  into  discussion  any  of  the  rights  or  liberties  which 
the  United  States  have  heretofore  enjoyed  in  relation 
thereto.  From  their  nature,  and  from  the  peculiar  charac- 
ter of  the  treaty  of  1783,  by  which  they  were  recognized, 
no  further  stipulation  has  been  deemed  necessary  by  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  to  entitle  them  to  the 
full  enjoyment  of  all  of  them." 

Subsequently,  the  British  commissioners  returned  their 
counter  project  of  a  treaty,  among  the  articles  of  which 
was  one  proposing  to  renew  to  the  British  nation  the 
right  to  navigate  the  Mississippi,  without  any  equiva- 
lent. Upon  consideration  of  this  article  by  the  American 
commissioners;  the  question  arose,  what  answer  should  be 
given  to  it.  Mr.  Clay  proposed  that  it  should  be  stricken 
out,  and  not  made  a  part  of  the  treaty ;  but  the  same  ma- 
jority which  had  been  originally  in  favour  of  coupling  the 
fisheries  and  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  together,  were 
again  in  favour  of  accepting  the  British  article,  with  the 
condition  that  there  should  be  a  renewal  of  all  our  rights 
and  liberties  in  the  fisheries,  as  they  existed  by  the  treaty 
of  1783.  Mr.  Clay  having  previously  announced  his  set- 
tled purpose  to  subscribe  no  treaty  which  should  compre- 
hend such  an  article,  did  not  repeat  the  annunciation  of 
his  unalterable  determination,  lest  it  should  be  under- 
stood as  a  menace.  Upon  the  proposition  of  the  article, 
with  its  modification,  the  British  commissioners  declined 


HENRY   CLAY.  113 

accepting  it ;  and  it  was  then  concluded  to  abstain  from 
inserting  any  article  in  the  treaty,  in  respect  either  to  the 
fisheries,  or  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 

Thus  was  the  father  of  rivers  forever,  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
released  from  all  foreign  incurnbrance  in  respect  to  naviga- 
tion ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  by  a  treaty  with  Great 
Britain,  concluded  in  1818,  the  American  right  to  the 
fisheries  was  satisfactorily  secured.  In  this,  as  in  almost 
every  other  instance,  time  has  demonstrated  the  wisdom 
of  the  policy  insisted  on  by  Mr.  Clay.  Although  the  suc- 
cess of  that  policy  was  owing  less  to  the  co-operation  of 
his  colleagues  than  to  the  obstinacy  of  the  British  pleni- 
potentiaries, his  merit  in  defending  it  is  not  to  be  underva- 
lued on  that  account.  The  views  which  were  taken  by 
him  in  1814,  are  now  the  views  of  the  American  people. 
The  importance  to  our  country  of  the  exclusive  naviga- 
tion of  the  Mississippi,  is,  at  present,  properly  appreciated ; 
and  we  may  safely  say,  that  its  navigation  could  not  now 
be  obtained  by  Great  Britain,  in  exchange  for  the  most 
valuable  privilege  in  her  gift.  It  should  be  recorded,  in 
honour  of  Mr.  Clay's  liberality  of  feeling,  that  although 
a  majority  of  the  commissioners  had  been  opposed  to  him 
on  the  subject  of  the  Mississippi,  he  did  ample  justice  to 
the  purity  of  their  motives,  in  a  speech  which  he  delivered 
in  Congress,  during  the  session  of  1815 — 16. 

The  negotiation  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent  may  be  safely 
pronounced  one  of  the  most  successful  in  the  history  of 
our  foreign  relations.  It  was  concluded  at  a  time  when 
the  whole  power  of  Britain  was  directed  against  us — a 
power  which  had  wrestled  single  handed  with  half  the 
nations  of  Europe.  The  star  of  Napoleon  had  gone 
down,  not,  indeed,  forever — but  to  rise  only  with  that 
sickly  and  ominous  glare  which  was  quenched  on  the 
plains  of  Belgium.  The  ambition  which  had  threatened 
10* 


J14  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

England  with  irresistible  invasion,  was  no  longer  to  be 
dreaded ;  and  our  country  was  left  to  contend  with  the 
colossal  strength  of  an  enemy,  which  had  torn  the  diadem 
from  the  brow  of  the  hero  of  Austerlitz,  and  shaken  asun- 
der the  confederation  of  the  Rhine.  Under  such  circum- 
stances it  was,  in  truth,  a  responsible  and  an  unwelcome 
task,  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace  and  amity  with  the 
commissioners  of  Great  Britain.  But  the  result  has 
proved,  that  this  task,  difficult  as  it  may  have  been,  was 
wisely  and  faithfully  executed.  The  honour  of  our  coun- 
try was  preserved; — the  objects  for  which  we  had  contended 
were  secured  by  the  general  spirit,  if  not  by  the  letter  of 
the  treaty ;  and  the  clamours  of  faction  were  hushed  into 
silence,  by  the  honourable  termination  of  a  struggle, 
which  had  been  denounced  as  the  certain  precursor  of  our 
downfall. 

It  is  to  be  regretted,  that  a  controversy  of  an  unplea- 
sant nature  should  have  since  arisen  between  two  of  the 
distinguished  commissioners  of  the  United  States,  in  refe- 
rence to  this  treaty.  We  shall  enter  upon  the  subject  of 
this  controversy  only  so  far  as  it  relates  to  Mr.  Clay. 

On  the  day  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent, 
our  commissioners  wrote  a  joint  letter  to  the  Secretary 
of  State,  explanatory  of  the  course  they  had  taken  du- 
ring the  latter  part  of  the  negotiation ;  and  containing 
a  concise  and  summary  narrative  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  mission  in  relation  to  the  fisheries  and  the  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi.  That  part  of  the  letter  which  referred 
to  the  offer  of  the  navigation,  was  made  to  read,  as  an 
offer  by  a  majority  only  of  the  American  mission.  The 
word  "  majority11  was  inserted  through  the  agency  of  Mr. 
Russell,  at  the  desire  of  Mr.  Clay.  In  a  letter  d&the  same 
date,  to  the  Secretary,  Mr.  Russel  acknowledged  that  he 
was  in  the  minority  on  that  question,  and  reserved  to  him- 


HENRY   CLAY.  115 

self  the  power  of  stating  his  reasons  for  differing  from  his 
colleagues.  These  reasons  were  given  by  him  in  a  letter, 
written  at  a  subsequent  period. 

At  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  only  a  part  of 
the  correspondence  of  the  negotiators  was  given  to  the 
publick.  The  rest  remained  safely  locked  up  in  the  ar- 
chives of  the  government,  until  the  spring  of  1822,  when 
a  call  was  made  for  it  by  the  house  of  representatives,  and 
soon  after  for  the  letter  of  Mr.  Russell,  where  he  assigned 
his  reasons  for  differing  from  the  majority  of  his  col- 
leagues on  the  subject  above  mentioned.  In  answer  to 
this  latter  call,  the  president,  in  his  message  to  the  house, 
stated  that  no  letter  or  communication  of  that  description 
was  on  file  in  the  state  department,  but  that  he  had  found 
one  among  his  own  papers.  Prior  to  this  discovery,  Mr. 
Russell  delivered  to  the  secretary  of  state  a  document,  pur- 
porting to  be  the  duplicate  of  the  one  found  among  the 
private  papers  of  the  president.  Both  of  these  letters 
were  transmitted  to  the  house,  together  with  some  remarks 
from  Mr.  Adams,  explanatory  of  the  views  of  a  majority 
of  the  negotiators,  and  in  vindication  of  their  conduct. 
To  this  Mr.  Russell  replied,  through  the  columns  of  a  pub- 
lic paper ;  and  in  turn  called  out  Mr.  Adams,  through  a 
similar  medium.  The  disputants  were  severe  upon  each 
other;  but  neither  the  conduct  nor  the  motives  of  Mr. 
Clay  were  impeached  by  either.  Both  seemed  to  consider 
that  he  had  acted  well  the  part  which  his  country  had  as- 
signed him.  Some  errors,  however,  into  which  .Mr.  Ad- 
ams had  fallen,  relative  to  the  part  which  Mr.  Clay  had 
taken,  in  regard  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and 
the  fisheries,  were  alluded  to  by  the  latter  in  a  brief  note, 
published  in  the  Washington  Intelligencer,  in  1822.  Ir 
this  note,  Mr.  Clay  declared  himself  unwilling,  at  a  time 
so  unpropitious  to  calm  and  dispassionate  investigation,  tc 


116  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

enter  into  the  particulars  of  the  Ghent  negotiation,  and 
stated,  that  under  such  circumstances  he  would  not  even 
be  provoked  into  a  controversy  with  either  of  his  late  col- 
leagues. He  intimated,  however,  that  at  a  season  better 
suited  to  deliberation  and  reflection,  he  would  give  his 
views  to  the  publick. 

We  have  been  informed  by  the  intimate  friends  of  Mr. 
Clay,  that  he  considers  the  partial  pledge  given  by  him 
to  the  publick,  to  have  been  redeemed  by  the  unauthorized 
publication,  in  the  autumn  of  1828,  of  his  private  corres- 
pondence with  Mr.  Russell.  In  that  correspondence,  Mr. 
Clay  states,  with  a  characteristick  frankness,  the  views  he 
entertained  at  Ghent,  of  the  nature  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
of  1783  with  Great  Britain,  and  of  the  effects  produced 
upon  the  stipulations  of  that  treaty,  by  a  declaration  of 
war.  He  speaks  of  the  discussions  among  the  American 
commissioners,  respecting  the  fisheries,  and  the  navigation 
of  the  river  Mississippi,  and  of  the  part  taken  by  him  in 
those  discussions.  But  although  differing  from  a  majo- 
rity of  the  mission  on  some  points,  especially  from  Mr. 
Adams,  he  no  where  impugns  the  integrity,  the  honesty, 
or  patriotism  of  their  motives. 


HENRY   CLAY.  Ill 


PART    THIRD. 

SECTION  FIRST. 

ON  the  return  of  Mr.  Clay  to  America,  after  the  discharge 
of  his  important  mission,  he  was  every  where  received 
with  the  liveliest  demonstrations  of  gratitude.  In  Ken- 
tucky, in  particular,  the  tide  of  feeling  in  his  favour  was 
high  and  irresistible.  Even  before  his  arrival,  he  was 
unanimously  elected  a  member  of  congress  from  the  dis- 
trict he  had  formerly  represented.  But  some  doubts  ari- 
sing as  to  the  legality  of  his  election,  while  absent  from 
the  country,  a  new  one  was  ordered,  which  resulted  in  a 
similar  expression  of  the  popular  will.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  the  next  session  of  congress,  he  was  elected 
speaker  of  the  house  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote. 

Although  the  return  of  peace  had  brought  gladness  to  al- 
most every  bosom,  and  had  been  hailed  by  illuminations,  bon- 
fires, and  thanksgivings,  yet  a  high  and  an  important  duty 
remained  to  be  performed  by  the  representatives  of  the  na- 
tion. The  publick  credit  was  impaired — the  circulating 
medium  disordered — the  paper  currency  depreciated — a 
large  debt  was  to  be  liquidated.  A  multitude  of  laws, 
which  had  been  passed  during  the  embargo,  non-inter- 
course, and  war,  were  to  be  repealed,  and  new  ones  enacted, 
better  suited  to  the  change  in  our  national  condition.  The 
army  and  the  navy  were  to  be  regulated  by  a  proper 
peace  establishment.  In  addition,  new  interests  had  risen 
up,  which  loudly  called  for  governmental  protection.  Our 
relative  situation  was  changed.  The  pacification  of  all 
Europe,  by  the  prostration  of  the  power  of  Napoleon,  had 
left  the  nations  at  liberty  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace, 
and  call  forth  their  own  internal  resources.  We  could  no 
longer  enjoy  the  carrying  trade  without  competition,  or 


118  BIOGRAPHY    OP 

supply  the  markets  of  the  whole  world  with  the  rich  and 
varied  productions  of  our  soil. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  our  affairs  at  the  meeting  of 
the  memorable  congress  of  1815 — 16.  The  first  business 
that  invited  its  attention  was  the  restoration  of  the  na- 
tional currency  to  a  sound  condition.  Various  projects 
had  been  recommended,  but  none  of  them  had  been  car- 
ried into  effect,  or  if  carried  into  effect,  had  failed  to  pro- 
duce the  desired  result.  At  the  opening  of  the  session, 
Mr.  Madison,  in  his  message,  called  the  attention  of  con- 
gress to  this  subject,  and  suggested  to  their  consideration 
the  propriety  of  establishing  a  bank.  The  sad  experience 
of  four  years,  had  convinced  him  and  many  of  his  distin- 
guished political  coadjutors,  that  our  currency  could  never 
be  kept  in  a  healthy  state,  or  our  publick  revenue  collected 
and  disbursed  with  facility,  without  the  assistance  of  such 
an  institution.  The  subject  was  referred  to  its  appropriate 
committee;  and  in  January,  1816,  Mr.  Calhoun,  the  chair- 
man of  that  committee,  reported  a  bill  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  national  bank. 

Mr.  Clay,  while-  a  member  of  the  senate,  in  1811,  had 
opposed  the  re-chartering  of  the  old  bank,  for  reasons 
which  have  already  been  assigned ;  but  this  did  not  pre- 
vent him  from  giving  an  active  support  to  the  bill  before 
the  house.  His  reasons  for  opposition  in  the  one  case,  and 
for  support  in  the  other,  must  be  obvious  to  every  man  ac- 
quainted with  our  political  history. 

In  181 1,  seven  tenths  of  the  capital  of  the  old  bank  was 
owned  by  the  inhabitants  of  England,  and  by  members 
of  the  federal  party.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  the 
republican  party  should  look  with  distrust  upon  a  measure, 
that  was  mainly  to  benefit  Englishmen,  and  those  who 
had  the  reputation  of  being  the  friends  of  Englishmen. - 
The  subject  came  up  for  discussion  and  deliberation  at  a 


HENRY  CLAY.  119 

most  difficult  crisis.  It  was  during  the  time  of  our  com- 
mercial restrictions,  when  the  leaders  of  the  federal  party 
had  made  it  a  fixed  principle  of  action  to  oppose  every 
measure  of  the  government,  and  apologize  for  every  act 
of  British  aggression,  however  oppressive  to  our  com- 
merce— however  destructive  to  the  liberties  and  lives  of 
our  citizens.  To  re-charter  the  bank  was  a  federal  mea- 
sure, and  would  place  a  vast  engine  of  power  in  federal 
hands.  It  shared  the  unpopularity  of  the  party  which 
had  brought  it  into  existence,  and  sustained  its  operations. 

In  1816  the  times  had  changed,  and  men,  in  a  measure, 
had  changed  with  them.  At  the  return  of  peace,  the 
causes  of  party  division  were  removed,  and  our  legislators 
had  nothing  to  do  but  to  unite  in  a  common  cause — the 
promotion  of  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  Union. 

During  the  war,  the  different  state  legislatures,  go- 
verned by  a  short-sighted  policy,  had  created  a  multitude 
'  of  banking  corporations,  with  powers  to  issue  their  bills 
to  an  almost  unlimited  amount,  without  being  under  any 
compulsion  to  redeem  those  bills  by  specie  payments.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  years,  they  had  increased  the  paper 
currency  of  the  country  from  ninety  to  two  hundred  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  This,  connected  with  a  suspension  of 
specie  payments,  occasioned  a  great  depreciation  in  the 
value  of  the  circulating  medium — impaired  both  public 
and  private  credit,  and  almost  arrested  the  fiscal  opera- 
tions of  the  general  government.  Relative  rights  were 
destroyed ;  and  the  constitution  was  virtually  violated  in 
that  article,  which  provides  for  a  uniformity  of  taxation 
throughout  the  United  States ;  for  there  could  be,  no 
uniformity  in  this  particular,  so  long  as  the  relative  value 
of  bank  notes  differed  in  various  places  more  than  twenty 
per  cent,  on  the  dollar.  In  this  state  of  our  affairs,  it  was 
evidently  the  duty  of  congress  to  exercise  its  constitu- 


120  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

tional  powers,  for  the  restoration  of  the  currency  of  the 
country  to  a  healthy  condition.  This  was  done;  and 
by  means  of  the  bank  of  the  United  States,  a  circulating 
medium  has  been  established,  preferable  to  that  of  gold 
and  silver. 

When  the  bill  for  the  establishment  of  the  bank  was 
before  the  committee  of  the  whole  house,  Mr.  Clay  deli- 
vered at  length  his  sentiments  in  favour  of  its  principles 
and  its  details.  His  speech  was  elaborate  and  argumenta- 
tive, and  its  effect  was  deeply  felt. 

For  the  course  which  Mr.  C.  took  on  this  occasion,  he 
has  been  charged  with  inconsistency.  His  friends  admit 
that  experience  has  changed  his  opinions  in.  relation  to  the 
necessity  of  a  bank  ;  but,  with  this  admission,  they  couple 
the  proud  fact,  that  there  is  no  other  instance  in  the  whole 
history  of  his  life,  where  he  has  changed  his  opinions  on  an 
important  subject.  His  ingenuousness  is  evinced  by  his 
having  changed  once,  and  his  firmness  by  his  having  done 
so  but  once.  Arid  what  was  it  that  wrought  this  single 
revolution  in  his  sentiments?  A  mighty  event,  whose 
consequences  could  be  learned  only  from  experience — the 
occurrence  of  a  war  with  Great  Britain,  which  changed 
not  only  his  views  of  the  policy  of  a  bank,  but  those  of 
almost  every  other  leading  politician  in  the  country.  In 
1811,  Mr.  C.  showed,  conclusively,  that  the  existence  of  a 
bank  was  not  then  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  any  of 
the  enumerated  powers  and  objects  of  the  general  govern- 
ment ;  and  neither  he,  nor  any  other  man,  without  the 
gift  of  prophecy,  could  have  foretold  that  it  would  ever 
be  necessary.  But  four  years  after  it  was  necessary ;  not 
only  to  the  exercise  of  the  specifick  powers  of  government, 
but  apparently  to  the  preservation  of  the  government 
itself. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  new  bank  was  esta 


HENRY   CLAY.  121 

biished  on  a  very  different  foundation  from  that  of  the  old 
one.  Many  of  the  dangers  incident  to  the  operations  of 
the  latter  were,  at  Mr.  Clay's  suggestion,  carefully 
guarded  against,  in  the  charter  of  its  successor.  Foreign 
ers  are  still  permitted  to  be  stockholders  in  the  bank ;  but 
they  are  not  allowed  to  vote  in  relation  to  the  manage- 
ment of  its  concerns ;  and  the  dangers  of  foreign  influ- 
ence are  thus  annihilated 

In  the  course  of  the  next  session  of  congress — that  of 
1816,  17 — the  celebrated  compensation  bill  was  discussed 
and  passed.  The  events,  which  grew  out  of  Mr.  Clay's 
support  of  this  bill,  are  perhaps  among  the  most  interest- 
ing incidents  of  his  history. 

Probably  the  circumstances  attending  the  passage  of 
the  compensation  bill  are  still  very  generally  remembered. 
The  pay  of  members  of  congress,  at  that  time,  was  six 
dollars  per  day;  a  sum  which  was  justly  considered  too 
small  for  the  country  to  give,  or  for  them  to  receive.  It 
barely  served  to  support  them  during  the  time  they  were 
engaged  in  the  transaction  of  the  business  of  the  nation, 
and  was  altogether  insufficient  to  enable  them  to  enjoy  the 
society  of  their  families  at  the  seat  of  government.  Per- 
petual poverty  was,  to  every  poor  man,  the  inevitable  con- 
sequence of  a  long  stay  in  congress ;  and  hence,  it  was 
becoming  unusual  for  any  one  to  consent  to  remain  there 
for  any  great  length  of  time,  unless  he  was  either  so  afflu 
ent  as  to  stand  in  no  need  of  remuneration  for  his  publick 
services,  or  so  deficient  in  enterprise  and  talent  as  to  be 
incapable  of  earning  any  thing  in  a  private  station.  Poor 
men  without  talent,  and  rich  men  without  principle,  were 
fast  monopolizing  the  whole  legislative  department  of  the 
general  government. 

The  principal  question  in  congress  was,  in  what  way 
the  compensation  of  the  members  should  be  increased. 
11 


122  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

Some  were  in  favour  of  making  an  addition  to  the  per 
diem  allowance ;  and  others  thought,  it  would  be  more 
expedient  to  fix  the  compensation  at  an  annual  salary.  In 
support  of  the  latter  mode,  it  was  zealously  urged,  that 
its  adoption  would  quiet  the  jealousies  of  the  people,  who, 
whenever  a  session  was  protracted  to  an  unusual  length, 
had  never  failed  to  express  their  suspicions,  that  the  mem- 
bers were  procrastinating  the  day  of  adjournment  for  no 
other  purpose  than  to  secure  the  continuance  of  their  wa- 
ges. It  is  certain  that  this  apprehension,  absurd  as  it 
was,  had  become  very  general,  and  done  a  serious  and 
extensive  injury,  by  impairing  the  confidence  of  the  peo- 
ple in  their  representatives.  Mr.  Clay  preferred  the  in- 
crease of  the  daily  wages  to  the  institution  of  a  salary, 
and  expressed  himself  decidedly  to  that  effect ;  but,  find- 
ing that  the  majority  were  against  him,  he  did  not  think 
it  advisable  to  press  his  own  opinions  too  vehemently. 
Convinced  as  he  was  of  the  necessity  of  raising  the  com- 
pensation in  one  way  or  another,  he  deemed  it  better  to 
yield  to  the  majority,  than  by  a  strong  opposition  to  their 
opinions,  to  hazard  the  entire  defeat  of  the  bill.  He  gave 
his  vote  for  it,  and  it  was  carried  without  a  dissenting 
voice,  except  from  a  few  aristocrats,  who  had  no  want  of 
money,  and  thought  it  a  derogation  from  their  dignity  to 
manifest  any  regard  for  it.  The  salary  was  fixed  at  fif- 
teen hundred  dollars  a  year.  Mr.  Clay  did  not  pretend, 
that  his  course  in  relation  to  this  measure  was  adopted 
without  any  regard  to  private  considerations.  He  had 
commenced  life  a  portionless  orphan  ;  and,  as  he  had  now 
an  increasing  family,  which,  by  his  exertions,  he  was 
sustaining  in  the  highest  and  brightest  sphere  of  life,  he 
felt  it  no  dishonour  to  demand  from  his  country  that 
amount  of  compensation,  to  which  he  was  fairly  entitled 
by  his  r  ,-rvices — to  demand  a  few  hundred  dollars  in  re- 
turn for  the  voluntary  sacrifice  of  thousands. 


HENRY    CLAY.  123 

Almost  immediately  after  the  passage  of  the  above- 
mentioned  bill,  congress  adjourned,  and  the  members  had 
no  opportunity  while  at  Washington,  of  ascertaining  in 
what  light  the  measure  would  be  viewed  by  their  constitu- 
ents. They  were  not,  however,  left  long  in  ^suspense.  In 
every  portion  of  the  union,  an  organized  band  of  dema- 
gogues commenced  the  work  of  exciting  popular  preju- 
dice against  the  bill ;  a  work,  in  which  they  succeeded  to 
the  extent  of  their  wishes.  Although  the  people,  with 
perfect  unconcern,  had  seen  the  wages  of  nearly  all  the 
other  officers  of  the  government  raised  and  even  doubled, 
they  were  now  startled  because  a  slight  addition  had  been 
made  to  the  pay  of  members  of  congress.  Such  a  state 
of  feeling  could  never  have  been  excited,  if  the  additional 
remuneration  had  been  voted  by  any  other  body  of  men 
than  the  members  themselves.  The  populace  esteemed  it 
a  dangerous  precedent,  that  public k  officers  should  in- 
crease their  own  wages.  To  their  imaginations  it  appear- 
ed like  corruption ;  for,  perhaps,  they  did  not  sufficiently 
consider,  that,  however  inadequate  the  wages  of  congress 
might  be  to  the  ordinary  purposes  of  life,  the  power  to  ap- 
ply the  remedy  was  confided  by  the  constitution  to  con- 
gress alone.  Be  this  as  it  might,  the  alarm  was  sounded, 
and  it  passed  on,  in  its  reverberations,  from  point  to  point, 
till  soon  the  whole  country  saw,  that  the  supporters  of  the 
compensation  bill  must  either  retrace  their  steps  or  be 
hurled  indignantly  from  their  places. 

In  Kentucky,  the  excitement  was  greater  than  in  any 
other  state.  The  compensation  bill  constituted  almost 
the  sole  topick  of  remark  in  private  circles,  and  of  decla- 
mation in  popular  assemblies :  and,  strange  as  it  may  ap- 
pear, there  was  scarce  a  voice  in  the  whole  state  raised  in 
its  favour.  On  no  subject  had  there  ever  been  such  entire 
unanimity.  The  citizens  grew  more  and  more  ardent 


124  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

from  day  to  day,  and  from  week  to  week ;  and,  at  length, 
their  exasperation  rose  to  such  a  height,  that  even  their 
habitual  and  long-cherished  reverence  for  their  favourite 
Clay,  seemed  half  forgotten,  and  there  was  every  proba- 
bility, that  he  would  be  cast  down,  like  a  worshipped 
idol,  when  its  votary  has  found  that  the  tale  of  its  divinity 
is  but  a  fable. 

The  opportunity  thus  offered  to  Mr.  Clay's  political  op- 
ponents, was  too  full  of  promise  to  be  neglected.  For  a 
long  time  they  had  been  silent,  yet  their  scrutiny  had  not 
been  withdrawn  from  him.  With  the  keen  eye  of  jea- 
lousy and  hate,  they  had  watched  every  act  of  his  publick 
life ;  and  now,  with  one  accord,  they  rushed  from  their 
retreat,  imagining,  that  it  was  not  within  the  limits  of  hu- 
man possibility,  that  their  formidable  foe  should  again 
escape  them.  His  final  downfall  was  considered  as  cer- 
tain as  the  set  of  the  sinking  sun. 

The  federalists,  in  Mr.  Clay's  district,  after  holding  long 
and  frequent  consultations,  determined  that  Mr.  John  Pope, 
a  man  of  powerful  eloquence,  and  great  family  influence, 
should  take  the  field  against  him  as  a  candidate  for  a  seat 
in  the  house  of  representatives.  The  arrangements  being 
made,  Mr.  Pope  immediately  commenced  riding  among 
the  citizens  of  the  district,  and  haranguing  them  with 
considerable  effect  in  relation  to  his  own  pretensions,  nnd 
the  supposed  aberrations  of  his  rival.  For  some  time  Mr. 
Clay  left  the  field  exclusively  to  Mr.  Pope ;  but  as  the  day 
of  the  election  approached,  he  was  persuaded,  by  the  re- 
peated importunities  of  his  friends,  to  meet  his  opponent 
upon  his  own  grounds.  Accordingly  he  went  forth,  for 
the  only  time  in  his  life,  to  visit  the  various  parts  cf  his 
district,  and  vindicate,  in  the  presence  of  his  constituents, 
the  nets  of  his  political  life. 

It  has  been  remarked  of  Mr.  Clay,  that  he  was  the  first 


HENRY    CLAY.  125 


Kentuckian  who,  in  making  an  electioneering  tour,  ever 
preserved  a  dignity  and  an  independence  of  character. 
At  that  day  it  was  usual  for  every  aspirant  to  public  fa* 
vour,  to  clothe  himself  in  the  meanest  habiliments,  and  to 
go  among  the  people,  soliciting  their  suffrages  with  the 
lowliness  of  mendicants.  This  custom  had  been  of  such 
long  standing,  that  the  people  regarded  it  as  a  just  and 
indispensable  tribute  to  their  supremacy.  It  was  a  de- 
gradation, however,  to  which  Mr.  Clay  would  not  sub- 
mit. Although  willing  to  give  an  explanation  of  his  con- 
duct, he  was  resolved  to  do  it,  if  at  all,  in  a  way  consist- 
ent with  the  respect  due  to  himself.  Wherever  he  ap- 
peared, it  was  in  the  dress  which  he  would  have  worn 
upon  the  floor  of  congress ;  and  his  every  appeal  to  his 
fellow-citizens,  was  characterized  by  all  the  loftiness  and 
pride  of  spirit,  which  might  have  been  expected  from  the 
noblest  orator  of  the  age,  defending  himself  against  the 
secret  machinations  and  the  open  efforts  of  his  enemies. 
His  remarks  upon  the  compensation  bill  were  made  in- 
genuously, and  without  reserve.  He  acknowledged,  that 
the  known  will  of  the  people  should,  in  all  cases,  be  the 
law  of  the  representative,  and  declared  his  willingness  to 
vote  for  the  repeal  of  the  obnoxious  bill,  should  his  con- 
stituents require  it  of  him.  By  correcting  their  erroneous 
impressions,  and  making  occasionally  one  of  those  appeals 
to  the  heart,  of  which  he  was  so  perfect  a  master,  he  soon 
succeeded  in  softening  their  exasperation,  and  kindling 
anew  the  feeling  of  love  and  veneration,  with  which  he 
had,  in  past  years,  been  regarded. 

Mr.  Pope,  in  spite  of  his  eloquence  and  his  popular  de- 
vices, found  that  he  was  fast  losing  ground  ;  and,  at  length, 
as  a  last  expedient,  he  determined  to  have  recourse  to  a 
desperate  measure.  A  few  day's  previous  to  the  election, 
he  sent  Mr.  Clay  an  invitation  to  meet  him  on  a  given 
11* 


126  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

day,  and  discuss  publicly  their  respective  claims  to  the 
suffrages  of  the  district.  The  invitation  was  promptly  ac- 
cepted, and  the  place  for  the  discussion  fixed  in  a  grove 
about  five  miles  from  Lexington.  The  anxiety  excited 
by  the  annunciation  of  the  anticipated  meeting,  was  in- 
tense and  universal.  On  the  appointed  day,  thousands 
assembled,  at  an  early  hour,  to  witness  the  intellectual 
conflict.  Arrangements  were  made  by  the  friends  of  the 
parties,  that  they  should  address  the  audience  alternately, 
each  having  permission  to  occupy  half  an  hour  at  a  time. 
The  preliminaries  being  settled,  Mr.  Pope,  who,  beside  be- 
ing a  strong  logician,  and  a  skilful  and  wily  disputant, 
had  been  indefatigable  in  his  preparations  for  this  occa- 
sion, made  the  first  onset,  with  a  vigour  that  surprised  his 
friends,  and  led  them  to  fancy  that  they  saw  his  giant  foe 
reeling  beneath  his  ponderous  blows.  For  some  time  he 
sustained  his  part  with  wonderful  success,  and  strong 
hopes  were  indulged  by  the  federal  party  that  he  would 
prove  finally  victorious.  They  knew  not  the  matchless 
elasticity  of  the  champion  with  whom  he  was  measuring 
his  strength.  Mr.  Pope,  after  vehement  and  repeated  at- 
tacks upon  his  antagonist,  began  to  falter  in  his  efforts ; 
but  Mr.  C.  gathered  new  strength  and  energy  from  every 
fresh  exertion.  It  soon  became  Mr.  P.'s  turn  to  act  on  the 
defensive ;  and  a  struggle,  like  that  which  now  ensued, 
could  not  last  long.  The  weaker  combatant  fell  gradu- 
ally back,  till  he  was  pressed  against  the  wall,  and  there 
his  conqueror  dealt  blow  after  blow  upon  his  now  naked 
and  defenceless  head,  till  the  scene  became  intensely  pain- 
ful to  the  spectators.  Mr.  Clay,  finding  that  it  would  be 
inglorious  to  prolong  the  strife,  turned  with  dignity  away 
from  his  fallen  foe,  and  pausing  for  a  few  moments  to  col- 
lect his  energies  for  a  last  intellectual  effort,  gave  a  dis- 
play of  argument,  eloquence,  and  passion,  which  is  still 


HENRY    CLAY.  127 

remembered  and  spoken  of  with  enthusiasm.  He  spoke 
of  his  services,  and  of  the  efforts  that  had  been  made  to 
ruin  him  ;  and  the  prejudices  of  the  multitude  swayed  to 
his  impetuous  eloquence,  like  reeds  to  the  roarings  of  the 
northern  hurricane.  His  victory  was  a  signal  one,  not 
only  over  his  competitor,  but  over  the  spirits  of  the  popu- 
lace. The  green  roof  of  the  forest-trees  that  overhung 
him,  was  his  triumphal  arch.  Thus  ended  a  conflict,  pro- 
bably the  most  celebrated  that  has  ever  occurred  in  Ken- 
tucky. 

The  day  of  trial  at  last  came,  and  Mr.  Clay,  being  re- 
elected  by  a  large  majority,  the  hopes  of  the  federal  party 
were  again  prostrate. 

Mr.  C.  found,  from  mingling  freely  with  his  constitu- 
ents, and  conversing  with  them  on  the  subject  of  the  com- 
pensation bill,  that  the  objections  of  the  more  intelligent, 
and  indeed  of  a  majority,  were  not  so  much  to  the  amount 
of  compensation  as  to  the  mode.  They  preferred,  that 
their  representatives  should  receive  daily  wages  for  their 
services,  but  were  willing  that  those  wages  should  be  raised 
to  any  sum  that  might  be  thought  fair  and  equitable. 
Their  sentiments  were  precisely  the  same  with  those  which 
Mr.  Clay  himself  had  advanced  in  congress  at  the  prece- 
ding session,  and,  of  course,  he  could  now  support  their 
views,  without  any  sacrifice  of  his  own.  The  re-consider- 
ation of  the  bill,  was  among  the  first  acts  of  the  next 
congress,  and  it  was  speedily  repealed,  Mr.  Clay,  and  al- 
most every  other  democrat,  voting  in  the  affirmative.  In- 
stead of  a  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  the  pay  of 
the  members  was  fixed  at  a  per  diem  allowance  of  eight 
dollars. 


128  BIOGRAPHY   OP 


SECTION  SECOND. 

WE  have  now  arrived  at  one  of  the  most  important  pe- 
riods in  the  eventful  life  of  Mr.  Clay.  It  is  that  in  which 
he  contended  so  nobly  for  the  cause  of  human  liberty ; — 
when,  striving  to  usher  the  Southern  Republics  into  the 
great  family  of  nations,  he  stood  up  before  his  country- 
men like  an  apostle,  commissioned  by  Freedom  to  welcome 
her  new  votaries  to  the  reward  of  their  labours  and  their 
sacrifices.  The  glory  which  he  won  by  the  discharge  of 
that  commission,  is  imperishable  as  liberty  itself.  It  will 
rise  freshly  above  his  grave,  and  grow  greener  with  the 
lapse  of  centuries. 

The  exultation  which  pervaded  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, when  it  was  known  that  the  inhabitants  of  South 
America  had  rent  asunder  the  chains  of  colonial  servi- 
tude, and,  like  their  brethren  of  the  north,  had  proclaimed 
themselves  "free,  sovereign,  and  independent,"  is  yet 
freshly  remembered.  The  event  was  hailed  as  a  glorious 
token  of  the  influence  of  our  own  great  struggle, — as  the 
first  fair  promise  of  a  redemption  of  the  nations  from  the 
thraldom  of  ancient  tyranny.  The  beautiful  sun  of  ra- 
tional liberty,  which,  for  a  time,  shone  over  the  despotism 
of  France,  had  gone  down  in  blood ;  but  in  the  situation 
of  the  republicks  of  the  south,  there  was  yet  hope  for  the 
ardent  friends  of  self-government.  The  power  of  old 
Spain  had  been  cloven  down  upon  a  hundred  battle  fields; 
and  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  southern  borders  of 
Chili,  the  people  were  rejoicing  over  the  broken  fetters  of 
that  colonial  bondage  which,  for  three  hundred  years,  had 
monopolized  their  treasure 'and  their  resources — blasted 
the  green  beauty  of  a  climate  rich  with  nature's  blessings, 


HENRY    CLAY.  129 

and  robbed  their  earth  of  its  wealth  of  gold  and  diamonds. 
It  is  no  marvel  that  the  sympathies  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  should  be  called  forth  in  favour  of  the  pa- 
triots of  South  America.  They  were  contending  in  the 
same  cause — they  were  asserting  the  same  rights  for 
which  our  fathers,  on  the  plains  of  Camden,  and  on  the 
heights  of  Charlestown,  poured  out  their  best  blood  with 
a  prodigality  like  that  of  the  autumnal  rain.  They  were 
struggling,  too,  with  a  foe,  whose  atrocities  and  barbari- 
ties outrivalled  those  of  the  enemy  over  which  our  fathers 
triumphed.  Spain  had  carried  on  the  war  with  her  insur- 
gent colonies  in  a  spirit  of  demoniack  vengeance.  The 
nged  patriot,  the  unoffending  female,  and  the  infant  at  the 
bosom  of  its  mother,  had  been  offered  up  in  one  indiscri- 
minate sacrifice.  Her  armies  had  manifested  a  barbarity 
unheard  of  in  the  annals  of  crime.  The  temples  of  religion 
had  been  polluted ;  and  the  gray  hairs  of  the  priests  had 
been  drenched  in  blood  at  the  very  foot  of  the  altar.  Ci- 
ties had  been  pillaged  and  consumed,  while  their  inhabi- 
tants of  one  sex  had  been  massacred,  the  armed  and  the 
unarmed  together — and  those  of  the  other  had  been  given 
over  to  the  licentious  passions  of  a  brutal  soldiery.  Where- 
cver  the  enemy  had  moved  over  the  beautiful  provinces  of 
La  Plata,  desolation  had  been  left  behind  them,  as  if  the 
earth  itself  had  been  scorched  and  blackened  by  the  fiery 
tread  of  demons. 

The  republican  feelings  of  Henry  Clay  would  not  al- 
low him  to  contemplate  such  a  scene  without  emotion. 
He  watched  the  movements  of  the  struggling  patriots 
with  anxiety,  yet  with  entire  confidence  in  their  ultimate 
success.  He  suffered  no  appropriate  opportunity  to  pass, 
without  publickly  bearing  witness  to  the  lively  interest  he 
felt  in  their  cause.  At  the  session  of  congress  of  1816 — 
17,  he  made  such  allusions  to  their  situation,  as  called  up 
in  opposition,  the  uncourteous  and  vituperative  spirit  of 


130  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

Mr.  Randolph.  At  another  time,  when  the  house  of  re- 
presentatives was  debating  the  propriety  of  passing  a  bill 
"  to  prevent  our  citizens  from  selling  vessels  of  war  to  the 
subjects  of  a  foreign  power,"  Mr.  C.  opposed  the  measure, 
because  of  its  evident  bearing  upon  the  condition  of  our 
South  American  brethren. 

"It  is  impossible,"  said  he,  "for  us  to  deceive  ourselves, 
as  to  the  true  character  of  the  bill  before  the  house.  Be- 
stow upon  it  what  denomination  you  will — disguise  it  as 
you  may — it  will  be  understood  by  the  world  as  a  law  to 
discountenance  any  aid  being  given  to  the  South  Ameri- 
can patriots,  now  in  a  state  of  revolution  against  the  pa- 
rent country.  With  respect  to  the  nature  of  that  strug- 
gle, I  have  not  now,  for  the  first  time,  to  express  my 
opinion  and  wishes.  I  wish  them  independence.  It  is 
the  first  step  towards  improving  their  condition.  Let 
them  have  a  free  government,  if  they  are  capable  of  en- 
joying it.  At  any  rate,  let  them  have  independence. — 
Yes,  from  the  inmost  recesses  of  my  soul,  I  wish  them  in- 
dependence. In  this  I  may  be  accused  of  imprudence, 
in  the  utterance  of  my  feelings  on  this  occasion ; — I  care 
not,  when  the  independence,  the  happiness,  the  liberty  of 
a  whole  people  is  at  stake,  and  that  people  our  neighbours, 
our  brethren,  occupying  a  portion  of  the  same  continent, 
imitating  our  example,  and  participating  of  the  same 
sympathies  with  ourselves." 

In  the  summer  of  1817,  the  president  of  the  United 
States  appointed  Messrs.  Rodney,  Graham,  and  Bland, 
commissioners  to  proceed  to  South  America,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  the  condition  of  the  country,  the  cha- 
racter of  the  people,  and  their  ability  for  self-government. 

In  March,  1818,  the  bill  making  appropriations  for  the 
support  of  government  for  that  year,  being  before  the 
house  of  representatives,  Mr.  Clay  objected  to  the  clause 


HENRY    CLAY.  131 

appropriating  the  sum  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  for  com- 
pensation to  the  commissioners  above  mentioned.  His  ob- 
jections were  grounded  on  the  evident  impolicy  of  the  ap- 
pointment, and  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  appropria- 
tion. 

After  some  discussion,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Lowndes,  the 
appropriation  was  passed  by  for  the  time,  in  order  to  ob- 
tain some  additional  information  relative  to  it,  which  Mr. 
Clay  had  demanded  in  his  previous  remarks.  The  item 
was  no  sooner  disposed  of,  than  Mr.  Clay  rose,  and  made 
his  motion  to  insert  a  provision  in  the  bill,  appropriating 
the  sum  of  eighteen  thousand  dollars,  as  the  outfit  and  one 
year's  salary  of  a  minister,  to  be  deputed  from  the  United 
States  to  the  independent  provinces  of  the  river  La  Plata, 
in  South  America. 

Mr.  Clay  followed  up  his  motion  by  a  long  and  able 
speech.  He  placed,  in  the  clearest  light,  the  condition  of 
the  South  American  provinces,  and  urged,  with  an  elo- 
quence which,  in  a  less  cautious  assembly,  would  have 
kindled  in  every  bosom  the  flame  of  his  own  sublime  en- 
thusiasm, the  adoption  of  a  measure,  which,  with  pro- 
phetick  intelligence,  he  foresaw  would  add  new  glory  to 
our  republick,  and  strengthen  the  hands,  and  animate  the 
hearts  of  men,  wrestling  with  tyranny  even  unto  death. 

He  commenced  by  expressing  his  regrets  at  finding 
himself  differing  from  many  highly  esteemed  friends,  for 
whom  he  entertained  the  greatest  respect.  This  had  led 
him  to  subject  his  own  convictions  to  the  severest  scru- 
tiny ;  but  all  his  reflections  conducted  him  to  the  same 
clear  result.  If  he  erred  in  this  result,  there  was  some 
consolation  in  knowing,  that  he  erred  on  the  side  of 
liberty,  and  the  happiness  of  the  human  family. 

He  wished  to  correct  all  misconceptions  in  relation  to 
his  opinions.  He  was  averse  from  war.  He  would  gire 
ao  just  cause  of  war  to  any  power — not  to  Spain  herself, 


132  BIOGRAPHY  OP 

though  she  had  given  us  abundant  cause.  But  it  wa* 
not  every  cause  of  war  that  should  lead  to  war.  War 
was  one  of  those  dreadful  scourges  which  so  shakes  the 
foundation  of  society,  overturns  or  changes  the  character 
of  government,  interrupts  or  destroys  the  pursuits  of  pri- 
vate happiness,  brings  misery  and  wretchedness  in  so 
many  frightful  forms,  and  is,  in  its  issue,  so  doubtful  and 
hazardous,  that  nothing  but  dire  necessity  can  justify  an 
appeal  to  arms. 

He  contemplated  the  great  struggle  that  was  going  on 
in  South  America ; — took  a  view  of  the  immense  resour- 
ces of  the  country — its  extent — its  scenery — the  number 
of  governments  that  would  probably  spring  into  exist- 
ence, to  claim  a  rank  among  the  nations.  He  alluded  to 
the  policj7  of  Spain  towards  her  colonies,  from  their  first 
settlement  down  to  the  transactions  of  Bayonne,  in  1808, 
when  the  Spanish  king  abdicated  his  throne,  and  became 
a  volunteer  captive.  From  that  time,  he  contended,  the 
colonies  were  released  from  their  obligations  of  allegi- 
ance, and  had  a  right  to  provide  for  themselves — allegi- 
ance being  founded  on  the  duty  of  protection.  "  But," 
continued  Mr.  Clay,  "  I  take  a  broader,  bolder  position. 
I  maintain  that  an  oppressed  people  are  authorized,  when- 
ever they  can,  to  rise  and  break  their  fetters.  This  was 
the  great  principle  of  the  English  revolution.  It  was  the 
great  principle  of  our  own.  We  must,  therefore,  pass 
sentence  of  condemnation  upon  the  founders  of  our  liberty ; 
— say  that  they  were  rebels,  traitors — and  that  we  are,  at 
this  moment,  legislating  without  competent  powers — before 
we  can  condemn  the  cause  of  Spanish  America.  Our 
revolution  was  mainly  directed  against  the  mere  theory 
of  tyranny.  We  had  suffered  comparatively  but  little; — 
we  had,  in  some  respects,  been  kindly  treated  ; — but  our 
intrepid  and  intelligent  fathers  saw,  in  the  usurpation  of 
the  power  to  levy  an  inconsiderable  tax,  the  long  train  of 


HENRY  CLAY. 


oppressive  acts  that  was  to  follow.  They  rose  —  they 
breasted  the  storm  —  they  conquered,  and  left  us  the  glori- 
ous legacy  of  freedom.  Spanish  America,  for  centuries, 
has  been  doomed  to  the  practical  effects  of  an  odious  ty- 
ranny. If  we  were  justified,  she  is  more  than  justified." 

Mr.  Clay  said  he  was  no  propagandist.  He  wished  not 
to  force  our  principles  where  they  were  not  wanted.  But, 
if  an  abused  and  an  oppressed  people  will  their  freedom 

—  if  they  sought  to  establish  an  independent  government 

—  if  they  had  established  one  —  we  had  the  right,  as  a  so- 
vereign power,  to  notice  the  fact,  and  act  as  circumstan- 
ces and  our  interests  required.     He  thought,  if  the  South 
Americans  were  entitled  to  succeed  from  the  justness  of 
their  cause,  we  had  no  less  reason  to  wish  it  from  the 
atrocious  character  of  the  war  which  was  waged  against 
them.     We  had  a  deep  interest  in  recognizing  them  as 
independent  nations.     It  concerned  our  commerce,  our  na- 
vigation, our  politics.     Whenever  their  independence  is 
established,   they   must  have    American   feelings  —  they 
must  obey  the  laws  of  the  new  world.     This  makes  the 
acknowledgement  of  their  independence  of  the  first  con- 
sideration, 

After  rebutting  the  charges  of  ignorance  and  inability 
for  self-government,  which  had  been  often  urged  against 
the  people  of  Spanish  America,  Mr.  Clay  proceeded  to  ex- 
amine that  of  superstition.  The  magnificent  bursting 
forth  of  eloquence  at  this  point,  is  equalled  only  by  the 
rioble  and  generous  feeling  which  it  manifests.  Would 
to  God  that  such  a  feeling  pervaded  every  bosom. 

"With  regard  to  their  superstition,  they  worship  the 
same  God  that  we  worship.  Their  prayers  are  ofTered 
up  in  their  temples  to  the  same  Redeemer,  from  whose  in- 
tercession we  ourselves  expect  salvation.  There  is  no- 
thing in  the  Catholic  religion  unfavourable  to  freedom. 
All  religions,  united  with  government,  are  more  or  lees 


134  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

inimical  to  liberty.  All,  separated  from  government,  arc 
compatible  with  liberty.  If  the  people  of  Spanish  Ame- 
rica have  not  gone  as  far  in  religious  toleration  as  we  have, 
the  difference  in  their  condition  and  ours  must  not  be  for- 
gotten. Every  thing  is  progressive.  In  time  they  will 
imitate  our  example.  But,  grant  that  the  people  of  Spa- 
nish America  are  ignorant  and  incompetent  for  free  go- 
vernment, to  whom  is  that  ignorance  to  be  ascribed  ?  Is 
it  not  the  execrable  system  of  Spain,  which  she  seeks 
again  to  establish  and  perpetuate?  This,  so  far  from 
chilling  our  hearts,  .ought  to  increase  our  solicitude  for 
our  unfortunate  brethren.  It  should  animate  us  to  desire 
the  redemption  of  the  minds,  as  well  as  the  bodies,  of  un- 
born millions,  from  the  brutifying  effects  of  a  system, 
whose  tendency  is  to  stifle  the  faculties  of  the  soul,  and 
to  degrade  man  to  the  level  of  the  beasts  that  perish.  I 
invoke  the  spirits  of  our  departed  fathers  I  Was  it  for 
yourselves  alone  that  you  nobly  fought?  No,  no.  It 
was  the  chains  that  were  forging  for  your  posterity,  that 
made  you  fly  to  arms,  and,  scattering  the  elements  of 
those  chains  to  the  winds,  you  transmitted  to  us  the  rich 
inheritance  of  liberty." 

After  alluding  to  the  immense  advantage  our  country 
would  derive  from  a  commerce  with  the  South  American 
states,  Mr.  Clay  proceeded  to  show  that  a  recognition  of 
their  independence  was  compatible  with  the  most  pacifick 
relations — with  a  rigid  neutrality — provided  we  furnished 
them  with  none  of  the  means  of  carrying  on  their  belli- 
gerent operations  against  old  Spain.  His  reasoning  on 
this  point  is  forcible  and  conclusive.  "  Recognition  alone," 
said  he,  "  without  aid,  is  no  just  cause  of  war.  With  aid, 
it  is ;  not  because  of  the  recognition,  but  because  of  the 
aid,  as  aid  without  recognition  is  cause  of  war.  The 
truth  of  these  propositions  is  maintained  by  the  practice 
of  other  states,  and  by  the  usage  of  our  own.  There  is 


HENRY   CLAY.  135 

no  common  tribunal  among  the  nations  to  pronounce 
upon  the  fact  of  the  sovereignty  of  a  new  state.  Each 
power  must  and  does  judge  for  itself.  It  is  an  attribute 
of  sovereignty  so  to  judge.  A  nation,  in  exerting  this  in- 
contestible  right — in  pronouncing  upon  the  independence, 
in  fact,  of  a  new  state,  takes  no  part  in  the  war.  It  gives 
neither  men,  nor  money,  nor  ships.  It  merely  pronoun- 
ces, that  in  so  far  as  it  may  be  necessary  to  institute  any 
relations,  the  new  state  is  capable  of  maintaining  those 
relations,  and  authorizing  that  intercourse." 

"  When  the  United  Provinces  formerly  severed  them- 
selves from  Spain,  it  was  about  eighty  years  before  their 
independence  was  finally  recognized  by  Spain.  Before 
that  recognition,  the  United  Provinces  had  been  received 
by  all  the  rest  of  Europe  into  the  family  of  nations.  It 
is  true,  that  a  war  broke  out  oetween  Philip  and  Eliza- 
beth, but  it  proceeded  from  the  aid  which  she  determined 
to  give,  and  did  give,  to  Holland. 

"In  the  case  of  our  own  revolution,  it  was  not  until  af- 
ter France  had  given  us  aid,  and  had  determined  to  enter 
into  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  us — a  treaty,  by  which  she 
guaranteed  our  independence,  that  England  declared  war. 
Holland  also  was  charged  by  England  with  favouring 
our  cause,  and  deviating  from  the  line  of  strict  neutrality. 
And  when  it  was  perceived  that  she  was,  moreover,  about 
to  enter  into  a  treaty  with  us,  England  declared  war. 
Even  if  it  can  be  shown  that  a  proud,  haughty,  and  pow- 
erful nation,  like  England,  has  made  war  upon  other  pro- 
vinces on  the  ground  of  a  mere  recognition,  the  single  ex- 
ample cannot  alter  the  publick  law,  or  shake  the  strength 
of  a  clear  principle." 

"  But  what  has  been  our  uniform  practice  ?  We  have 
constantly  proceeded  on  the  principle,  that  the  govern- 
ment de  facto  is  that  which  we  alone  can  notice.  What- 
ever form  of  government  any  society  of  people  adopt, — 


136  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

whoever  they  acknowledge  as  their  sovereign,  we  consi- 
der that  government,  or  that  sovereign,  as  the  one  to  be 
acknowledged  by  us.  We  have  invariably  abstained  from 
assuming  a  right  to  decide  in  favour  of  the  sovereign  de 
jure,  and  against  the  sovereign  de  facto.  That  is  a  ques- 
tion for  the  nation  in  'which  it  arises  to  determine.  So 
far  as  we  are  concerned,  the  sovereign  de  facto  is  the  sove- 
reign de  jure.  Our  own  revolution  stands  on  the  basis  of 
the  right  of  a  people  to  change  their  rulers.  I  do  not 
maintain  that  every  immature  revolution — every  usurper, 
before  his  power  is  consolidated,  is  to  be  acknowledged  by 
us — but  that  as  soon  as  stability  and  order  are  maintained, 
no  matter  by  whom,  we  always  have  considered,  and 
ought  to  consider,  the  actual  as  the  true  government. 

"  If,  then,  there  be  an  established  government  in  Span- 
ish America,  deserving  to  rank  among  the  nations,  we  are 
morally  and  politically  bound  to  acknowledge  it,  unless 
we  renounce  all  the  principles  which  should  guide,  and 
which  have  hitherto  guided  our  councils."  Mr.  Clay  then 
adverted  to  the  limits,  the  population,  navy,  army,  the 
system  of  finance,  and  the  many  undertakings  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  general  prosperity  in  the  republick  of  the 
United  Provinces  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  to  show  that  it 
was  a  government  of  such  a  character  as  ought  to  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  family  of  nations.  There  were,  it  was  not 
to  be  concealed,  difficulties  and  commotions  there.  "  And 
what  state,"  said  he,  "  passing  through  the  agitations  of 
a  great  revolution,  is  free  from  them  ?  We  had  our  tories, 
our  intrigues,  our  factions.  More  than  once  were  the  af- 
fections of  the  country,  and  the  confidence  of  our  coun- 
cils, attempted  to  be  shaken  in  the  great  father  of  our  li- 
,  berties.  Within  the  immense  extent  of  the  territories  of 
La  Plata,  not  a  Spanish  bayonet  remains  to  contest  the 
authority  of  the  actual  government.  It  is  free — it  is  in- 
dependent— it  is  sovereign." 


HENRY   CLAY.  137 

Notwithstanding  the  variety  and  comprehensiveness  of 
Mr.  C.'s  arguments,  and  the  power  and  vehemence  with 
•which  he  enforced  them,  his  opponents  would  not  be  con- 
vinced ;  but,  after  taking  time  to  array  their  strength,  made 
a  vigorous  attack  upon  his  positions.  Their  object  was 
to  show,  that  the  South  American  states,  if  independent, 
would  become  the  commercial  rivals  of  our  own  country; 
that  our  recognition  of  their  independence  would  be  likely 
to  involve  us  in  a  disastrous  war  either  with  Spain  or  the 
members  of  the  Holy  Alliance ;  that  the  states  themselves 
would  never  thank  us  for  it;  and  that  it  was  our  wisest 
policy  to  attend  to  the  management  of  our  own  concerns, 
and  let  all  other  governments,  whether  republican  or  monar- 
chical, take  care  of  themselves. 

Mr.  C.'s  final  reply,  though  never  reported,  is  spoken  of 
as  having  been  triumphant.  His  antagonists  were  pros- 
trated on  all  sides  of  him,  as  if  his  every  word  had  been 
an  electrick  flash,  and,  in  his  most  impassioned  moments, 
he  seemed  to  rule  the  heart  by  the  vehement  motions  of  his 
arm,  as  with  a  rod  of  iron.  Never  was  there  a  greater 
contrast  than  between  the  sordid  and  timorous  policy  re- 
commended by  his  opponents,  and  his  own  sublime  and 
expansive  views.  Their  wish  was  to  make  our  country  a 
selfish  and  an  isolated  power;  but  it  was  his  aim  to 
render  her  the  glorious  centre  of  a  beautiful  and  harmoni- 
ous system.  He  seemed  a  great  Apostle  of  Liberty,  some- 
times directing  his  accusing  and  desolating  eloquence 
against  the  spirit  of  tyranny,  and  then  interceding  for  an 
unhappy  and  struggling  nation,  with  a  pathos  as  deep  and 
moving  as  that  of  the  ancient  patriarch,  when  pleading  face 
to  face  with  the  Most  High,  for  mercy  upon  the  cities  of 
the  plain.  All  would  not  avail.  Congress,  headed  by 
Mr.  Monroe,  was  opposed  to  the  recognition  of  South 
12* 


138  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

American  independence,  and,  after  a  long-  struggle,  Mr. 
Clay's  resolution  was  rejected. 

The  orator  had  been  little  accustomed  to  defeat,  but  he 
heard  the  decision  of  the  house  with  unshaken  firmness. 
He  felt  that  his  cause  was  just  and  righteous,  and  worthy 
of  his  continued  exertions,  and  he  did  not,  for  one  moment, 
resign  the  hope  of  ultimately  achieving  the  great  object 
for  which  he  had  striven.  He  knew  his  adequacy  to  the 
work  which  he  had  appointed  to  himself  to  do. 

The  subject  of  sending  a  minister  to  South  America 
again  came  up  for  consideration  in  1820.  The  contest 
had  not  yet  closed  between  Spain  and  the  republicks  of 
Spanish  America,  but  the  latter,  with  various  success, 
were  still  fighting  desperately  for  the  maintenance  of  their 
freedom.  The  patriot  Clay  saw  them  stretching  out  their 
hands  imploringly  to  our  country,  and  begging  to  be  re- 
cognized as  among  the  nations — he  had  learned  the  extent 
of  their  gratitude  for  the  active  sympathy  he  had  already 
manifested  in  their  fate — and  he  determined  to  stand  up 
again  and  plead  their  cause  before  the  representatives  of 
the  union.  The  motion  for  their  recognition  was  made  by 
himself,  and  he  defended  it,  as  in  1818,  in  one  of  his  noblest 
and  most  eloquent  appeals. 

"  The  house  has  been  asked,  and  asked  with  a  triumph 
worthy  of  a  better  cause — why  recognize  this  republick  ? 
Where  is  the  use  of  it  ?  And  is  it  possible,  that  gentle- 
men can  see  no  use  in  recognizing  this  republick  ?  For 
what  has  she  fought  ?  To  be  admitted  into  the  family  of 
nations.  '  Tell  the  nations  of  the  world,'  says  Pueyrre- 
don,  in  his  speech,  '  that  we  already  belong  to  their  illus- 
trious rank.'  What  would  be  the  powerful  consequence 
of  a  recognition  of  their  claim  ?  I  ask  my  honourable 
revolutionary  friend  before  me,  with  what  anxious  solici- 
tude, during  our  revolution,  he  and  his  glorious  compatriots 


HENRY  CLAY.  139 

turned  their  eyes  to  Europe,  and  asked  to  be  recognized. 
I  ask  him,  the  patriot  of  '76,  how  the  heart  rebounded 
with  joy  on  the  information,  that  France  had  recognized 
us.  The  moral  influence  of  such  a  recognition  on  the  pa- 
triot of  the  South  will  be  irresistible.  He  will  derive  as- 
surance from  it,  of  his  not  having  fought  in  vain.  In  the 
constitution  of  our  natures,  there  is  a  point  to  which  ad- 
versity may  pursue  us,  without  perhaps  any  worse  effect 
than  that  of  exciting .  new  energy  to  meet  it.  Having 
reached  that  point,  if  no  gleam  of  comfort  breaks  through 
the  gloom,  we  sink  beneath  the  pressure,  yielding  reluctant- 
ly to  our  fate,  and,  in  hopeless  despair,  losing  all  stimulus 
to  exertion.  And 'is  there  not  reason  to  fear  such  a  fate  to 
the  patriots  of  the  South  ?  Already  enjoying  independence 
for  eight  years,  their  ministers  are  yet  spurned  from  the 
courts  of  Europe,  and  rejected  by  the  government  of  a  sis- 
ter republick.  Contrast  this  conduct  of  ours  with  our  con- 
duct in  other  respects.  No  matter  whence  the  minister 
comes,  be  it  from  a  despotick  power,  we  receive  him:  and, 
even  now,  one  of  my  honourable  opponents  would  have  us 
send  a  minister  to  Constantinople,  to  beg  a  passage  through 
the  Dardanelles  to  the  Black  Sea.  He  who  can  see  no 
advantage  to  the  country  from  opening  to  its  commerce 
the  measureless  resources  of  South  America,  would  send  a 
minister  begging  to  Constantinople  for  a  little  trade.  Nay, 
I  have  seen  a  project  in  the  newspapers,  and  I  should  not 
be  surprised,  after  what  we  have  already  seen,  at  its  being 
carried  into  effect,  for  sending  a  minister  to  the  Porte. 
Yes,  sir,  from  Constantinople  or  from  the  Brazils ;  from 
Turk  or  Christian ;  from  black  or  white ;  from  the  Dey  of 
Algiers  or  the  Bey  of  Tunis ;  from  the  devil  himself,  if  he 
wore  a  crown,  we  should  receive  a  minister.  We  even 
paid  the  expenses  of  the  minister  of  his  sublime  highness, 
the  Bey  of  Tunis,  and  thought  ourselves  highly  honoured 


140  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

by  his  visit.  But  let  the  minister  come  from  a  poor  r«- 
publick,  and  we  turn  our  back  on  him.  No,  sir,  we  will 
not  receive  him.  The  brilliant  costumes  of  the  ministers 
of  the  royal  governments  are  seen  glistening  in  the  cir- 
cles of  our  drawing  rooms,  and  their  splendid  equipages 
rolling  through  the  avenues  of  the  metropolis:  but  the  un- 
accredited minister  of  the  republick,  if  he  visit  our  presi- 
dent or  secretary  of  state  at  all,  must  do  it  incog.,  lest  the 
eye  of  Don  Onis  should  be  offended  by  so  unseemly  a 
sight.  I  appeal  to  the  powerful  effect  of  moral  causes, 
manifested  in  the  case  of  the  French  revolution,  when,  by 
their  influence,  that  nation  swept  from  about  her  the  ar- 
mies of  the  combined  powers,  by  which  she  was  environed; 
and  rose  up  the  colossal  power  of  Europe." 

The  debate  on  Mr.  C.'s  resolution  was  continued  two  or 
three  weeks,  during  which  period  the  mover  taxed  his  in- 
tellectual resources  and  his  physical  strength  to  their  ut- 
most. His  triumph  was  as  complete  as  his  aim  had  been 
glorious.  The  independence  of  South  America  was  re- 
cognized. The  effect  of  this  act  in  pouring  a  new  ardour 
into  the  hearts  of  the  southern  republicks,  and  renerving 
their  arms  with  thunder,  is  already  a  matter  of  record,  and, 
at  present,  needs  no  commentary.  That  effect,  whatever  it 
may  have  been,  is  to  be  traced  home  to  the  influence  of 
Mr.  Clay,  who,  by  a  perseverance  unsurpassed  in  any  hero 
either  of  history  or  romance,  procured  the  recognition  of 
the  republicks,  in  opposition  to  the  combined  influence  of 
a  popular  and  powerful  administration ;  a  triumph  over 
misconception  and  prejudice,  too  glorious  to  be  forgot- 
ten. (2) 

In  every  land,  there  are  thousands  of  patriots,  whose 
holiest  sympathies  are  always  excited  by  a  contest  for  free- 

(2)  See  Appendix. 


HENRY    CLAY.  141 

dorn,  in  whatever  part  of  the  world  it  may  take  place ; 
but  the  man  who,  like  Henry  Clay,  has  had  not  only  the 
inclination,  but  the  opportunity,  to  take  a  group  of  sister 
republicks  by  the  hand,  unclose  to  them  the  temple  of  In- 
dependence, and  show  them  its  glories  and  its  mysteries, 
may  well  consider  himself  no  less  fortunate  than  patriotick. 
Such  deeds,  it  is  true,  may,  for  the  moment,  attract  less  of 
the  world's  admiring  gaze,  than  a  victory  like  that  of 
Borodino  or  Waterloo.  The  array,  the  shout,  the  onset, 
the  blood,  the  groan,  the  shivered  diadem — these  are  mat- 
ters which  the  most  vulgar  minds  can  at  once  appreciate — 
for  they  address  themselves  to  the  senses,  and  their  effects 
are  palpable  and  immediate.  The  great  moral  and  intel- 
lectual achievements  of  our  world  are  of  a  different  nature. 
Their  control  is  comparatively  unseen  by  ordinary  eyes, 
even  though  all  the  high  places  of  the  land  may  be  rocking 
to  and  fro  beneath  their  influence,  as  with  the  heavings  of 
a  great  earthquake ;  but,  in  their  effects,  they  become  a 
portion  of  the  common  fortunes  of  humanity — a  mighty 
wave  in  that  great  current  of  events,  which  will  flow  on- 
ward, onward,  onward,  till  the  ancient  pillars  of  despotism, 
that  have  been  vainly  imagined  by  kings  to  have  their 
foundation  in  the  centre  of  the  earth,  shall  be  swept  down 
to  float  off  like  common  wrecks  upon  the  returnless  tide. 
Thousands  of  lofty  spirits,  whose  very  names,  like  their 
perishing  clay,  have  perchance  gone  down  to  the  dust, 
are  still  living  upon  earth,  in  the  control  which  their 
strong,  though  invisible  energies,  have  entailed  upon  their 
fellow  men — still  dwelling  and  acting  among  us  in  their 
propitious  and  glorious  influences. 

Here  we  cannot  resist  the  temptation  of  transmitting  to 
our  pages  an  eloquent  tribute  accorded  to  Mr.  Clay  for  his 
South  American  services,  by  one  of  the  greatest  men  of 
the  age.  Mr.  Forsyth,  of  Georgia,  the  earliest  and  most 


142  BIOGRAPHY    OP 

violent  opposer  of  the  recognition  of  the  southern  repub- 
licks,  made  a  severe  allusion,  in  1825;  to  the  influence 
•which  Mr.  C.  had  exerted  in  their  behalf.  Mr.  Webster, 
of  Massachusetts,  vindicated  the  great  patriot  in  the  fol- 
lowing language : 

"  Pains  have  been  taken  to  prove,  that  the  whole  policy 
of  our  government  respecting  South  America,  is  the  un- 
happy result  of  the  influence  of  a  gentleman  formerly 
filling  the  chair  of  this  house.  To  make  out  this,  reference 
has  been  made  to  certain  speeches  of  that  gentleman  de- 
livered here.  He  is  charged  with  having  become  himself 
affected,  at  an  early  day,  with  '  the  South  American  fe- 
ver,' and  with  having  infused  its  baneful  influence  into  the 
whole  councils  of  the  country.  If,  sir,  it  be  true,  that  that 
gentleman,  prompted  by  an  ardent  love  of  civil  liberty,  felt, 
earlier  than  others,  a  proper  sympathy  for  the  struggling 
colonies  of  South  America ;  or  that,  acting  on  the  maxim, 
that  revolutions  do  not  go  backward,  he  had  the  sagacity 
to  foresee,  earlier  than  others,  the  successful  termination 
of  those  struggles ;  if,  thus  feeling  and  thus  perceiving,  it 
fell  to  him  to  lead  the  willing  or  unwilling  councils  of  his 
country  in  her  manifestations  of  kindness  to  the  new  go- 
vernment, and  in  her  seasonable  recognition  of  her  inde- 
pendence ;  if  it  be  this,  which  the  honourable  member  im- 
putes to  him — if  it  be  by  this  course  of  publick  conduct, 
that  he  has  identified  his  own  name  with  the  cause  of 
South  American  liberty — he  ought  to  be  esteemed  one  of 
the  most  fortunate  men  of  the  age.  If  all  this  be  as  is 
now  represented,  he  has  acquired  fame  enough.  It  is 
enough'  for  any  man  thus  to  have  connected  himself  with 
the  greatest  events  of  the  age  in  which  he  lives,  and  to 
have  been  foremost  in  measures  which  reflect  high  ho- 
nour on  his  country  in  the  judgement  of  mankind.  Sir,  it 


HENRY    CLAY.  143 

is  always  with  great  reluctance,  that  I  am  drawn  to  speak, 
in  my  place  here,  of  individuals;  but  I  could  not  forbear 
what  I  have  now  said,  when  I  hear  in  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives, and  in  the  land  of  free  spirits,  that  it  is  made 
matter  of  imputation  and  of  reproach,  to  have  been  first  to 
reach  forth  the  hand  of  welcome  and  of  succour  to  new- 
born nations,  struggling  to  obtain  and  to  enjoy  the  blessings 
of  liberty." 

Mr.  Clay's  anxiety  for  the  permanent  liberty  and  pros- 
perity of  the  South  American  states,  has  never  lost  any 
portion  of  its  intensity.  Amid  all  the  civil  changes  that 
have  been  wrought  in  these  countries,  he  has  looked  steadi- 
ly forward  to  the  ultimate  consummation  of  his  earliest 
hopes,  and  contributed  to  it  by  every  means  in  his  power. 
His  letter  to  Bolivar,  under  date  of  October  27th,  1828,  is 
a  strong  and  beautiful  illustration  of  his  feelings.  It  was 
written  in  reply  to  the  following  communication  from 
Bolivar. 

"  BOGOTA,  21st  Nov.  1827. 

"  SIR, — I  cannot  omit  availing  myself  of  the  opportuni- 
ty afforded  me  by  the  departure  of  Col.  Watts,  Charge 
d' Affaires  of  the  United  States,  of  taking  the  liberty  to  ad- 
dress your  excellency.  This  desire  has  long  been  enter- 
tained by  me,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  my  admiration 
of  your  excellency's  brilliant  talents  and  ardent  love  of 
liberty.  All  America,  Colombia,  and  myself,  owe  your 
excellency  our  purest,  gratitude  for  the  incomparable  ser- 
vices you  have  rendered  to  us,  by  sustaining  our  course 
with  a  sublime  enthusiasm.  Accept,  therefore,  this  sin- 
cere and  cordial  testimony,  which  I  hasten  to  offer  to  your 
excellency,  and  to  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
who  have  so  greatly  contributed  to  the  emancipation  of 
your  southern  brethren. 


144  BIOGRAPHY    OP 

1  I  have  the  honour  to  offer  to  your  excellency  my  dis- 
tinguished consideration. 

"  Your  excellency's  obedient  servant, 

"  BOLIVAR." 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  Mr.  Clay's  reply: — 
"  WASHINGTON,  27th  OCT.  1828. 

"  SIR, — It  is  very  gratifying  to  me  to  be  assured  direct- 
ly by  your  excellency,  that  the  course  which  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  took  on  this  memorable  occa- 
sion, and  my  humble  efforts,  have  excited  the  gratitude 
and  commanded  the  approbation  of  your  excellency.  I 
am  persuaded,  that  I  do  not  misinterpret  the  feelings  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  as  I  certainly  express  my 
own,  in  saying,  that  the  interest  which  was  inspired  in 
this  country  by  the  arduous  struggles  of  South  America, 
arose  principally  from  the  hope,  that,  along  with  its  in- 
dependence, would  be  established  free  institutions,  insuring 
all  the  blessings  of  civil  liberty.  To  the  accomplishment 
of  that  object  we  still  anxiously  look.  We  are  aware,  that 
great  difficulties  oppose  it,  among  which  not  the  least  is 
that  which  arises  out  of  the  existence  of  a  large  military 
force,  raised  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  the  power  of 
Spain.  Standing  armies,  organized  with  the  most  patri- 
otick  intentions,  are  dangerous  instruments.  They  devour 
the  substance,  debauch  the  morals,  and  too  often  destroy 
the  liberties  of  a  people.  Nothing  can  be  more  perilous  or 
unwise  than  to  retain  them  after  the  necessity  has  ceased, 
which  led  to  their  formation,  especially  if  their  numbers 
are  disproportionate  to  the  revenues  of  the  state. 

"But,  notwithstanding  all  these  difficulties,  we  had 
fondly  cherished,  and  still  indulge  the  hope,  that  South 
America  would  add  a  new  triumph  to  the  cause  of  human 
liberty ;  and,  that  Providence  would  bless  her,  as,  He  had 
her  northern  sister,  with  the  genius  of  some  great  and  vir- 


HENRY   CLAY.  1'JO 

dous  man,  to  conduct  her  securely  through  all  her  trials. 
We  had  even  flattered  ourselves,  that  we  beheld  that  genius 
in  your  excellency.  But  I  should  be  unworthy  of  the 
consideration  with  which  your  excellency  honours  me, 
and  deviate  from  the  frankness  which  I  have  ever  en- 
deavoured to  practise,  if  I  did  not,  on  this  occasion,  state, 
that  ambitious  designs  have  been  attributed  by  your  ene- 
mies to  your  excellency,  which  have  created  in  my  mind 
great  solicitude.  They  have  cited  late  events  in  Colom- 
bia, as  proofs  of  these  designs.  But,  slow  in  the  with- 
drawal of  confidence,  which  I  have  once  given,  I  have 
been  most  unwilling  to  credit  the  unfavourable  accounts 
which  have,  from  time  to  time,  reached  me.  I  cannot  al- 
low myself  to  believe,  that  your  excellency  will  abandon 
the  bright  and  glorious  path  which  lies  plainly  before  you 
for  the  bloody  road  passing  over  the  liberties  of  the  human 
race,  on  which  the  vulgar  crowd  of  tyrants  and  military 
despots  have  so  often  trodden.  I  will  not  doubt,  that  your 
excellency  will,  in  due  time,  render  a  satisfactory  explana- 
tion to  Colombia  and  to  the  world,  of  the  parts  of  your 
public  conduct  which  have  excited  any  distrust ;  and  that, 
preferring  the  true  glory  of  our  immortal  Washington  to 
the  ignoble  fame  of  the  destroyers  of  liberty,  you  have 
formed  the  patriotick  resolution  of  ultimately  placing  the 
freedom  of  Colombia  upon  a  firm  and  sure  foundation. 
That  your  efforts  to  that  end  may  be  crowned  with  com- 
plete success,  I  most  fervently  pray. 

"  I  request  that  your  excellency  will  accept  assurances 
of  my  sincere  wishes  for  your  happiness  and  prosperity. 

"H.  CLAY." 


13 


140  BIOGRAPHY   OP 


SECTION  THIRD. 


IN  March,  1818,  the  same  month  and  year  in  which 
Mr.  Clay  made  his  first  great  speech  on  the  subject  of 
South  American  Independence,  he  also  put  forth  his  first 
memorable  effort  in  behalf  of  that  system,  of  which  he  is 
the  acknowledged  founder  and  head — the  system  of  inter- 
nal improvements.  He  had  before,  on  several  occasions, 
both  in  congress  and  the  legislature  of  his  own  state, 
been  the  zealous  advocate  of  measures,  in  which  the  prin- 
ciple of  internal  improvements  was  involved;  but,  previous 
to  1818,  there  was  no  speech  of  his  on  record,  to  which  the 
friends  of  the  principle  could  appeal  with  confidence,  as  a 
triumphant  vindication  of  their  sentiments. 

During  the  war,  and  for  a  short  time  subsequent  to  it, 
the  condition  of  our  funds  had  not  been  such  as  to  warrant 
the  construction  of  roads,  canals,  and  other  national  con- 
veniences, to  any  great  extent;  but  the  expenditures  of  the 
country  were  now  less  considerable,  and  the  attention  of 
our  statesmen  began  to  be  directed  to  the  consideration  of 
the  best  mode  of  appropriating  the  surplus  revenue. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  as  expressed  in  one 
of  his  messages  to  congress,  that,  under  the  constitution, 
roads  and  canals  could  not  be  constructed  by  the  general 
government,  without  the  consent  of  the  state  or  states 
through  which  they  were  to  pass. 

At  the  opening  of  the  congressional  session  of  1816 — 17, 
Mr.  Madison,  in  his  message  to  the  two  houses,  made  use 
of  the  following  language:  "I  particularly  invite  again 
the  attention  of  congress  to  the  expediency  of  exercising 
their  existing  powers,  and,  where  necessary,  of  resorting 


HENRY  CLAY.  147 

to  the  prescribed  mode  of  enlarging  them,  in  order  to  ef 
fectuate  a  comprehensive  system  of  roads  and  canals,  such 
as  will  have  the  effect  of  drawing  more  closely  together 
every  part  of  our  country,  by  promoting  intercourse  and 
improvements,  and  by  increasing  the  share  of  every  part 
in  the  common  stock  of  national  prosperity."  In  pursu- 
ance of  this  recommendation,  congress,  a  short  time  be- 
fore its  adjournment,  passed  a  bill,  appropriating  for 
purposes  of  Internal  Improvement,  the  bonus,  which  was 
to  be  paid  to  the  general  government  by  the  bank  of  the 
United  States.  The  bill  was  sent  to  the  President  for  his 
signature,  on' the  last  day  but  one  of  the  session.  Strictly 
conformable  as  were  its  provisions  to  the  sentiments  of  his 
own  message,  a  rumour  was  soon  spread,  that  he  designed 
to  return  it  to  the  house  with  his  veto.  Mr.  Clay,  on  hear- 
ing this  rumour,  immediately  addressed  him  in  a  private 
letter,  urging  him  not  to  reject  the  bill,  but  rather,  if  he 
could  not  conscientiously  sign  it,  to  leave  the  whole  mat- 
ter to  be  acted  orf  by  his  successor,  Mr.  Monroe,  who  was 
to  be  inaugurated  on  the  following  day.  Mr.  Madison 
thought  it  his  duty  to  act  in  opposition  to  Mr.  C.'s  advice, 
and,  on  the  third  of  March,  sent  back  the  bonus  bill  with^ 
out  his  signature,  and  stated  his  convictions  in  a  short  but 
rather  able  message,  that  Internal  Improvements  were  not 
within  the  constitutional  power  of  the  government. 

Unless  conjecture  is  extremely  at  fault,  Mr.  Monroe, 
previous  to  seeing  Mr.  Madison's  veto  message,  had  pre- 
pared his  own  inaugural  address,  recommending,  in  strong 
and  unqualified  terms,  a  general  system  of  Internal  Im- 
provement. On  reading  Mr.  Madison's  document,  his  re- 
solution misgave  him.  Actuated  by  a  timorous  policy, 
and,  perhaps  half  convinced  by  Mr.  M's'  reasonings,  he 
interpolated,  among  his  own  remarks,  a  phrase  utterly 
and  awkwardly  at  variance  with  their  general  import,  in 


148  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

order  that  he  might  seem  to  agree  with  his  predecessor. 
The  impulse,  thus  accidentally  given  to  his  sentiments, 
determined,  in  a  great  measure,  their  permanent  direction. 
In  his  message,  at  the  opening  of  the  session  of  congress 
of  1817 — 18,  he  again  alluded  to  the  subject,  stating,  that 
he  had  bestowed  upon  it  all  the  attention  which  its  great 
importance  and  a  just  sense  of  duty  required,  and  that 
the  result  of  his  deliberations  was  a  settled  conviction, 
that  the  power  of  making  Internal  Improvements  was  not 
vested  in  congress,  and  could  be  conferred  only  by  an 
amendment  of  the  constitution. 

From  these  facts,  it  is  apparent  that  Mr.  Clay's  speech 
of  March,  1818,  in  vindication  of  the  constitutionality  of 
Internal  Improvements,  was  made  under  circumstances 
of  intense  interest.  It  was  relied  on  by  the  friends  of  the 
system  as  their  last  great  struggle.  Three  national  execu- 
tives had  decided  against  them;  and  nothing  was  now 
wanting,  but  a  decision  of  congress,  to  put  their  hopes 
finally  to  rest.  It  was  in  vain  to  anticipate  an  amend- 
ment of  the  constitution.  Such  a  measure  could  not  have 
been  effected  but  by  a  greater  majority  of  congress  than 
was  to  be  hoped  for,  in  a  matter,  which  had  been  the  sub- 
ject of  so  much  doubt  and  disputation. 

The  resolution,  which  was  discussed  in  the  house,  de- 
clared, that  congress  had  power,  under  the  constitution,  to 
appropriate  money  for  the  construction  of  military  roads, 
post-roads,  and  canals. 

Mr.  Clay,  after  giving  a  strong  impulse  to  the  debate, 
left  it  to  be  conducted  by  others  for  several  days,  and, 
when,  at  last,  he  rose  to  express  his  sentiments,  he  began 
by  apologizing  to  the  members  of  the  house  for  troubling 
them  with  his  remarks,  wearied,  as  he  knew  them  to  be,  by 
the  inordinate  length  of  the  discussion.  Like  a  keen 
adept  in  the  science  of  human  nature,  he  essayed  to  soften 


HENltY   CLAY.  149 

the  prejudices,  that  were  entertained  against  his  princi- 
ples, by  paying  a  just  and  eloquent  compliment  to  the  ho- 
nesty and  intelligence  of  the  distinguished  men,  whose 
opinions  he  felt  bound  to  controvert,  and  by  showing,  that 
the  authority,  which  he  considered  as  vested  in  congress, 
was  not  fraught  with  those  dangers  to  the  community, 
that  his  opponents  had  habitually  ascribed  to  it.  The 
power,  which  he  claimed  for  the  government,  he  repre- 
sented as  neither  more  nor  less  than  that  of  diffusing  in- 
telligence, affluence,  and  happiness,  throughout  the  nation 
— the  power  of  twining  still  more  closely  the  silver  cords 
of  Union  around  the  whole  of  our  mighty  and  almost 
limitless  territory.  He  warned  his  hearers  to  remember, 
that,  if  the  constitutional  powers  of  congress  were  de- 
stroyed, the  government  itself  would  dissolve,  from  the 
want  of  cohesion,  and  relapse  into  the  debility,  which  ex- 
isted under  the  old  confederation,  as  certainly  as  the  pla- 
nets would  "  wander  darkling  in  the  eternal  space,"  if  the 
sun  were  blotted  from  the  heavens. 

That  part  of  the  present  debate,  which  related  to  the 
rules  to  be  observed  in  the  construction  of  the  constitution, 
bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  what  we  have  already  no- 
ticed as  having  been  said  on  the  same  subject  in  1811  and 
1815,  when  the  question  of  a  national  bank  was  under 
consideration.  Mr.  Clay  held,  that,  under  the  constitu- 
tion, government  might  exercise  any  power,  which  was 
either  expressly  granted  by  that  instrument,  or  impliable 
from  an  express  grant.  The  soundness  of  this  rule  was 
acknowledged  by  his  opponents.  The  only  difference  be- 
tween him  and  them,  was  in  their  different  modes  of  apply- 
ing the  rule.  They  argued,  that  no  power  could  be  con- 
sidered as  implied  by  the  constitution,  unless  it  was  di- 
rectly and  absolutely  indispensable  to  the  operation  of  a 
specifick  grant  •  and  he,  on  the  other  hand,  contended,  that 
13* 


150  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

every  power  was  impliable,  which  appeared  "necessary 
and  proper"  to  the  exercise  of  constitutional  rights,  al- 
though its '  necessity  might  not  be  strictly  absolute.  Of 
course,  he  was  charged  with  looseness  of  doctrine.  Be- 
cause he  asserted,  that  congress,  in  deciding  upon  its  own 
powers,  must  be  governed,  to  a  certain  extent,  by  its  own 
judgement,  he  was  denounced  as  the  advocate  of  the  law 
of  discretion — the  unlimited  law  of  tyrants.  He  retorted, 
however,  upon  his  opponents  with  great  force.  "You 
assert,  that  a  power  cannot  be  implied  without  an  absolute 
necessity.  But  who  is  to  define  that  absolute  necessity, 
and  then  to  apply  it  ? — Who  is  to  be  the  judge  ? — Where 
is  the  security  against  transcending  that  limit? — The 
rule  you  contend  for  has  no  greater  security  than  that  in- 
sisted upon  by  us.  It  equally  leads  to  the  same  discre- 
tion, a  sound  discretion,  exercised  under  all  the  responsi- 
bility of  a  solemn  oath,  of  a  regard  to  our  fair  fame,  of  a 
knowledge  that  we  are  ourselves  the  subjects  of  those  laws 
which  we  pass,  and,  lastly,  of  the  rights  of  the  people  to 
resist  insupportable  tyranny." 

Having  settled  his  rules  of  construction,  Mr.  Clay  pro- 
ceeded to  examine  the  constitution  in  detail,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  demonstrating  the  existence  of  a  power  in  congress 
to  construct  such  works  of  internal  improvement  as  were 
contemplated  in  the  resolution  before  the  house.  The 
power  to  "  establish  post -roads"  is  given  by  the  constitu- 
tion expressly  ;  but  the  opposers  of  Internal  Improvements 
insisted,  that  the  right  to  "  establish"  post-roads  did  not 
imply  a  right  to  make  them,  but  only  to  designate  those 
already  made,  which  were  to  be  used  in  the  conveyance 
of  the  mail.  This  interpretation  Mr.  Clay  showed  to  be 
absurd.  It  is  obvious  that  the  framers  of  the  constitution 
designed,  by  the  disputed  phrase,  to  convey  to  congress  a 
certain  definite  power  in  relation  to  post-roads ;  but  the 


HENRY    CLAY.  151 

power  to  designate  such  roads  existed  in  congress  undei 
the  old  articles  of  confederation,  and  hence  could  not  be 
identical  with  the  power,  which  was  afterwards  con- 
ferred. 

The  constitution  gives  to  congress  the  power  to  make 
war,  and  Mr.  Clay  insisted,  that  there  was  so  direct  and 
intimate  a  relation  between  this  power  and  the  power  of 
constructiug  military  roads  and  canals,  that  the  one  ne- 
cessarily implied  the  other.  He  argued,  that  the  conven- 
tion which  formed  the  constitution,  had  in  vain  confided 
to  the  general  government  the  authority  to  declare  war, 
and  to  employ  the  whole  physical  means  of  the  country 
to  bring  it  to  a  successful  termination,  unless,  at  the  same 
time,  the  government  derived,  by  implication,  the  power  to 
transport  these  means  wherever  they  might  be  wanted — a 
measure  which,  in  many  instances,  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble to  carry  into  effect,  but  by  the  construction  of  canals 
and  military  roads.  He  illustrated  his  position  by  ap 
pealing  to  well-known  facts.  He  showed,  that  many  of 
our  greatest  misfortunes,  during  the  late  war  with  Great 
Britain,  might  have  been  prevented,  many  valuable  lives 
saved,  and  an  immense  property  preserved  from  destruc- 
tion, had  not  the  want  of  roads  and  canals  rendered  it  im- 
practicable for  our  armies  to  pass  with  celerity  from  one 
point  to  another.  The  experience  of  other  countries  was 
adduced  to  strengthen  the  conclusions  drawn  from  that  of 
our  own.  The  orator  justly  remarked,  that  it  was  by  the 
construction  of  those  magnificent  military  roads,  which 
are,  even  now,  among  the  wonders  of  Europe,  that  the  old 
Romans  rendered  themselves,  for  centuries,  the  masters  of 
the  world,  and  diffused  law,  liberty,  and  intelligence,  around 
them.  It  was  the  doctrine  of  Mr.  Clay,  that  a  chain  of 
roads  and  canals,  together  with  a  small  military  establish. 
ment  for  keeping  up  our  more  important  fortresses,  consti- 


152  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

luted  that  species  of  preparation  for  war,  which  it  was 
the  right  and  the  duty  of  the  general  government  to  pro- 
vide in  a  season  of  peace.  His  opponents,  at  length,  con- 
ceded, that  military  roads  might  be  made,  when  called  for 
by  an  emergency.  "  This,"  said  Mr.  Clay,  "  is  a  conces- 
sion, that  the  constitution  conveys  the  power  to  make 
them ;  and  we  may  safely  appeal  to  the  judgement  of  the 
candid  and  enlightened,  to  decide  between  the  wisdom  of 
these  two  constructions,  of  which  one  requires  you  to 
wait  for  the  exercise  of  your  power  until  the  arrival  of  an 
emergency,  which  may  not  allow  you  to  exert  it — and 
the  other,  without  denying  you  the  power,  if  you  can  ex- 
ercise it  during  the  emergency,  claims  the  right  of  provi- 
ding beforehand  against  the  emergency." 

Mr.  Clay's  opponents  rallied  finally  in  defence  of  the 
position,  that,  if  works  of  Internal  Improvement  were  left 
by  the  government  to  the  enterprise  of  individuals,  they 
would  always  be  executed,  from  motives  of  private  inte- 
rest, as  early  as  the  condition  of  society  required  them. 
Mr.  C.  admitted,  that  such  might  generally  be  the  case  in 
old  countries,  where  there  was  a  great  accumulation  of 
capital,  and  consequently  a  low  rate  of  interest ;  but  he  as- 
serted, and  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  one,  that,  in 
a  new  country  like  ours,  the  general  good  of  the  commu- 
nity might  often  require  publick  works  long  before  there 
would  be,  in  the  hands  of  individuals,  the  capital  requisite 
for  their  construction.  He  showed,  moreover,  that  the  ag- 
gregate of  all  the  advantages  that  would  be  likely  to  re- 
sult to  the  publick  from  any  given  work,  might  be  such  as 
to  warrant  the  undertaking,  and  yet  these  advantages  be 
diffused  among  different  classes  of  men  so  entirely  separa- 
ted by  distance  and  occupation  as  to  be  unable  to  act  in 
concert.  The  Delaware  and  Chesapeake  canal,  and  the 
turnpike  roads  over  the  Alleghany  mountains,  are  works 


HENRY    CLAY.  153 

of  this  description.  Mr.  C.  said,  with  truth,  that  the  capi- 
talist, who  should  invest  money  in  one  of  these  improve- 
ments, would  probably  receive  less  than  three  per  cent, 
profit,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  community,  taken  in 
all  its  branches,  was  receiving  an  annual  profit  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  per  cent,  at  least.  "  The  benefit  resulting  from 
a  turnpike  road,  made  by  private  associations,  is  divided 
between  the  capitalist,  who  receives  his  tolls,  the  lands 
through  which  it  passes,  and  which  are  augmented  in 
their  value,  and  the  commodities,  whose  value  is  enhanced 
by  the  diminished  expense  of  transportation.  A  combina- 
tion upon  any  terms,  much  more  a  just  combination,  of  all 
these  interests  to  effect  the  improvement,  is  impracticable. 
And  if  you  await  the  arrival  of  the  period,  when  the  tolls 
alone  can  produce  a  competent  dividend,  it  is  evident,  that 
you  will  have  to  suspend  its  execution,  until  long  after 
the  general  interests  of  society  would  have  authorized  it." 
Mr.  C.  showed,  in  the  progress  of  his  argument,  that  there 
were  certain  great  works  of  internal  improvement,  to  which 
the  resources  of  a  state  were  as  inadequate  as  those  of  pri- 
vate capitalists.  He  instanced  the  improvement  of  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi.  "  In  this  great  object,"  said 
he,  "  twelve  states  and  two  territories  are,  in  different  de- 
;  grees,  interested.  It  is  an  object,  which  can  be  effected 
only  by  a  confederacy.  And  here  is  existing  that  confe- 
deracy, and  no  other  can  lawfully  exist ;  for  the  constitu- 
tion prohibits  the  states,  immediately  interested,  from  en-^ 
tering  into  any  treaty  or  compact  with  each  other." 

Mr.  C.'s  commentary  upon  Mr.  Monroe's  message,  al- 
though perfectly  respectful  and  courteous,  was  fraught 
with  a  species  of  severity,  which  must  have  fallen  un- 
gratefully  upon  the  feelings  of  that  high  functionary ;  for 
it  was  the  severity  of  truth  and  unanswerable  argument. 
Mr.  M.  had  denied,  in  his  message,  the  constitutional  power 


J 

154  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

of  the  government  to  make  roads  or  canals  ;  but  this  de 
nial  was  at  war  with  his  own  acts;  and  Mr.  Clay  thought, 
that  the  acts  of  any  man,  however  high  his  station,  were 
infinitely  more  intelligible  than  mere  paper  sentiments  or 
declarations.  The  President,  in  a  tour  through  the  Uni- 
ted States  during  the  summer  of  1817,  had  ordered  a  road 
to  be  cut  or  repaired  from  near  Plattsburgh,  in  the  state  of 
New- York,  to  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  He  did  this  in  a 
time  of  profound  peace,  without  consulting  the  state  of 
New- York,  and  relied  on  congress  to  sanction  the  act  by 
an  appropriation.  Upon  his  own  responsibility,  he  had 
ordered  similar  improvements  in  other  parts  of  the  United 
States.  "And  is  it  come  to  this,"  said  Mr.  Clay,  "that 
there  are  to  be  two  rules  of  construction  for  the  constitu- 
tion— one  an  enlarged  rule,  for  the  executive,  and  another 
a  restricted  rule,  for  the  legislature  ?  Is  it  already  to  be 
held,  that,  according  to  the  genius  and  nature  of  our  con- 
stitution, powers  of  this  kind  may  be  safely  entrusted  to 
the  executive,  but,  when  attempted  to  be  exercised  by  the 
legislature,  are  so  alarming  and  dangerous,  that  a  war 
with  all  the  allied  powers  would  be  less  terrible,  and,  that 
the  nation  should  clothe  itself  straightway  in  sackcloth 
and  ashes  1  No,  sir,  if  the  power  belongs  by  implication 
to  the  chief  magistrate,  it  is  placed,  both  by  implication 
and  express  grant,  in  the  hands  of  congress." 

In  attempting  a  concise  sketch  of  Mr.  Clay's  speech, 
we  have  perhaps  given  some  faint  idea  of  his  arguments, 
but  it  is  impossible  to  convey  an  image  of  the  eloquence, 
with  which  they  were  enforced ;  we  can  paint  the  shaft, 
but  not  the  eagle  plume,  that  winged  it  on  its  lightning 
courses.  The  speech,  taken  as  a  whole,  is  one  of  the 
'  strongest  constitutional  arguments  on  record.  There  is  no 
sacrifice  to  ornament  in  any  part  of  it,  and  yet  it  is  con- 
tinually bursting  out  into  those  high  flashes  of  enthusiasm, 


HENRY    CLAY.  155 

which  evince,  that  the  orator  felt  vividly  the  importance 
of  the  great  system,  whose  title  to  life  or  death  was  now  to 
be  sealed  by  the  issue  of  his  exertions.  His  peroration 
was  surpassingly  impressive,  and  calculated,  when  pro- 
nounced in  his  peculiarly  deep  and  powerful  tones,  to 
make  the  blood  go  thrilling  through  the  veins,  like  a  shout 
of  victory. 

Mr.  Clay  carried  his  motion  by  a  majority  of  ninety  to 
seventy-five.  This  triumph,  achieved  as  it  was,  not  only 
over  the  opinions  of  two  illustrious  ex-presidents,  but  over 
the  most  active  struggles  of  Mr.  Monroe  and  the  whole 
administration  party,  was  one  of  the  most  splendjd  events 
in  parliamentary  history.  Mr.  C.  was  not,  as  in  the  cause 
of  South  American  independence,  even  temporarily  baf- 
fled by  the  tremendous  power  of  the  executive.  He  dash- 
ed it  back,  as  if  it  were  but  a  rushing  wave  and  he  a  giant 
rock. 

It  was  on  this  occasion,  that  Mr.  Clay  laid  deep  the 
foundation  of  a  universal  system  of  Internal  Improve- 
ments, and  he  did  not  leave  his  task  undone.  Let  our 
readers  consult  the  records  of  the  subsequent  sessions  of 
congress,  and  they  will  see,  that,  from  year  to  year,  he  re- 
turned to  his  work,  oftentimes  in  defiance  of  the  most 
powerful  obstacles,  and  carried  it  on  with  an  energy, 
which  was  equally  a  stranger  to  wearinesss  and  defeat. 
We  well  remember — what  his  enemies  as  well  as  friends 
will  be  prompt  to  acknowledge — that  the  whole  fabrick 
of  Internal  Improvements  was  erected  by  himself;  that 
he  "  heaved  its  pillars,  one  by  one,"  and  guarded  it  against 
all  the  assaults  of  the  administration. 
f  The  specific  measure  of  Internal  Improvement,  to  which, 
for  the  most  part,  he  confined  his  labours,  from  the  session 
of  1818  to  that  of  1824,  was  the  continuation  of  the  Cum- 
berland road.  That  stupendous  work  stands,  an  eternal 


156  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

memorial  of  his  eloquence  and  perseverance.  With  the 
labour  of  an  intellectual  Hercules,  he  stretched  it  out, 
league  by  league.  It  ascended  not  a  hill,  it  crossed  not  a 
river,  but  by  the  impulse  which  it  received  from  him.  Nor 
are  those,  who  are  enjoying  the  benefits  of  his  labours,  un- 
mindful of  their  benefactor.  Upon  the  Cumberland  road 
stands  a  large  and  beautiful  monument  of  stone,  sur- 
mounted by  the  Genius  of  Liberty,  and  inscribed  with  the 
name  of  "HENRY  CLAY." 

The  last  congressional  speech  that  was  made  by  Mr. 
C.  in  relation  to  Internal  Improvements,  he  pronounced 
on  the  16th  of  January,  1824,  upon  a  bill  authorizing  the 
president  of  the  United  States  to  effect  certain  surveys  and 
estimates  of  roads  and  canals.  Mr.  Monroe  had  opposed 
the  great  champion  of  Internal  Improvements  till  tired  of 
defeat,  and,  in  his  message  at  the  opening  of  the  session 
of  1824 — 5,  he  so  far  yielded  what  he  supposed  to  be  the 
point  in  controversy,  as  to  acknowledge,  that  Congress 
had  a  constitutional  power  to  appropriate  money  foTroads, 
canals,  and  other  national  conveniences,  but  still  denied, 
that  it  had  the  power  to  carry  into  effect  the  objects  for 
which  its  appropriations  were  made.  It  now  devolved  on 
the  enemies  of  Mr.  Clay's  system  to  make  their  own  last 
effort  against  him,  and,  to  this  end,  they  marshalled  their 
diminished  ranks  coolly  and  deliberately.  Many  of  them 
are  remembered  to  have  declared,  that,  if  they  were  now 
defeated,  they  should  consider  the  system  of  Internal  Im- 
provements as  definitively  established  by  competent  au- 
thority, and  accord  to  it  ever  afterwards  their  steady  and 
cheerful  support. 

Mr.  Clay  was  assailed,  on  this  occasion,  by  high  and 
low,  but,  in  the  selection  of  his  antagonists,  he  paid  his 
first  respects  to  the  President.  Notwithstanding  the  ob- 
vious disposition  of  Mr.  Monroe,  to  effect  a  compromise  be- 


HENRY  CLAY.  157 

tween  himself  and  Mr.  C.,  the  latter  considered  his  senti- 
ments no  less  objectionable  than  before,  and  bore  them 
down  as  if  they  had  been  but  rushes  beneath  his  feet.  It 
will  be  recollected,  that,  in  1818,  Mr.  Monroe's  party 
claimed,  that  in  respect  to  post-roads,  the  general  govern- 
ment had  no  other  authority  than  to  use  such  as  had  been 
previously  established  by  the  states.  They  claimed,  that 
to  repair  such  roads  was  not  within  the  governmental 
powers.  Mr.  M.  now  gave  his  direct  sanction  to  this  doc- 
trine, and  added,  that  the  states  were  at  full  liberty  to 
alter,  to  change,  and,  of  course,  to  shut  up  post-roads  at 
pleasure.  "  Is  it  possible,"  said  Mr.  Clay,  "  that  this  con- 
struction of  the  constitution  can  be  correct — a  construc- 
tion, which  allows  a  law  of  the  United  States,  enacted  fc,- 
the  good  of  the  whole,  to  be  obstructed  or  defeated  in  it;, 
operation  by  a  county  court  in  any  one  of  twenty-four 
state  sovereignties?  Suppose  a  state,  no  longer  having 
occasion  to  use  a  post-road  for  its  own  separate  and  pecn 
liar  purposes,  withdraws  all  care  and  attention  from  it^ 
preservation.  Can  the  state  be  compelled  to  repair  it?- — 
No! — Then,  may  not  the  general  government  repair  this 
road,  which  is  abandoned  by  the  state  power  ? — And  may 
it  not  protect  and  defend  that  which  it  has  thus  repaired, 
and  which  there  is  no  longer  an  interest  or  inclination  in 
the  state  to  protect  and  defend  1  Is  it  contended,  that  a 
road  may  exist  in  the  statute  book,  which  the  state  will 
not,  and  the  general  government  cannot,  repair  and  im- 
prove 1  What  sort  of  an  account  should  we  render  to  th« 
people  of  the  United  States,  of  the  execution  of  the  high 
trust  confided,  for  their  benefit,  to  us,  if  we  were  to  teii 
them,  that  we  had  failed  to  execute  it,  because  a  state- 
would  not  make  a  road  for  us  ?  The  same  clause  of  the 
constitution  which  authorizes  congress  to  'establish  post, 
roads,'  authorizes  it  also  to  'establish  post-offices.'  Will 
14 


158  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

it  be  contended,  that  congress,  in  the  exercise  of  the  powef 
to  '  establish  post-offices,'  can  do  no  more  than  adopt  or 
designate  some  pre-existing  office,  erected  and  kept  in  re- 
pair by  state  authority  ?  There  is  none  such.  It  may, 
then,  fix,  build,  create,  and  repair  offices  of  its  own,  and  its 
power  over  the  post-roads  is,  by  the  constitution,  equally 
extensive." 

Mr.  Clay's  opponents,  especially  Mr.  Barber,  of  Vir- 
ginia, made  a  vigorous  attempt  to  sustain  Mr.  Monroe,  by 
pretending,  that  the  jurisdiction  which  Mr.  C.  claimed 
for  congress  over  post -roads,  furnished  a.  just  occasion  for 
serious  alarm  to  the  state  authorities.  "  The  jurisdiction," 
said  Mr.  Clay,  in  reply,  "  which  is  claimed  for  the  general 
government,  is  that  only  which  relates  to  the  necessary 
defence,  protection,  and  preservation  of  the  road.  What- 
ever does  not  relate  to  the  existence  and  protection  of  the 
road,  remains  with  the  state.  Murders,  trespasses,  con- 
tracts, all  the  occurrences  and  transactions  of  society  upon 
he  road,  not  affecting  its  actual  existence,  will  fall  within 
uie  jurisdiction  of  the  civil  or  criminal  tribunals  of  the 
state,  as  if  the  road  had  never  been  brought  into  existence. 
How  much  remains  to  the  state  I  How  little  is  claimed  for 
the  general  government  ! — Is  it  possible  that  a  jurisdic- 
tion so  limited,  so  harmless,  so  unambitious,  can  be  re- 
garded as  seriously  alarming  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
states !  Mails  certainly  imply  roads,  roads  imply  their 
own  preservation,  their  preservation  implies  the  power  to 
preserve  them,  and  the  constitution  tells  us,  in  express 
terms,  that  we  shall  establish  the  one  and  the  other." 

Mr.  Clay's  argument,  in  defence  of  the  constitutional 
right  of  the  government  to  cut  canals,  was  more  striking 
and  conclusive,  than  that  which  he  had  used  on  the  same 
subject  in  1818.  He  placed  the  matter  in  a  light  entirely 
new.  He  had  before  attempted  to  show,  that  the  govern- 


HENRY  CLAY.  159 

ment  derived  the  right  of  making  canals  from  its  authority 
to  declare  and  prosecute  war ;  and  he  now  argued,  that  it 
derived  the  same  right  from  its  authority  to  regulate  do- 
mestic Qpmmerce.  "Congress,"  said  he,  "has  power  to 
regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations  and  among  the 
several  states.  Precisely  the  same  measure  of  power, 
which  is  granted  in  the  one  case,  is  conferred  in  the  other. 
Suppose,  instead  of  directing  the  legislation  of  this  govern- 
ment, constantly,  as  heretofore,  to  the  object  of  foreign 
commerce,  to  the  utter  neglect  of  the  interior  commerce 
among  the  several  states,  the  fact  had  been  reversed,  and 
now,  for  the  first  time,  we  were  about  to  legislate  for  our 
foreign  trade :  should  we  not,  in  that  case,  hear  all  the 
constitutional  objections  made  to  the  erection  of  buoys, 
beacons,  light-houses,  the  surveys  of  coasts,  and  the  other 
numerous  facilities  accorded  to  the  foreign  trade,  which 
we  no\v  hear  to  the  making  of  roads  and  canals  ?  Two 
years  ago,  a  sea-wall,  or,  in  other  words,  a  marine  canal, 
was  authorized  by  an  act  of  congress,  in  New-Hampshire  ; 
and  many  of  those  voted  for  it,  who  have  now  constitu- 
tional scruples  on  this  bill.  Yes,  any  thing,  every  thing,  may 
be  done  for  foreign  commerce  ;  any  thing,  every  thing,  on 
the  margin  of  the  ocean  ;  but  nothing  for  domestick  trade — • 
nothing  for  the  great  interior  of  the  country.  'Yet  the 
equity  and  the  beneficence  of  the  constitution  equally  com- 
prehend both.  The  gentlemen  do,  indeed,  maintain,  that 
there  is  a  difference  as  to  the  character  of  the  facilities  in 
the  two  cases.  But  I  put  it  to  their  own  candour,  whether 
the  only  difference  is  not  that  which  springs  from  the  na- 
ture of  the  two  elements  on  which  the  two  species  of  com- 
merce are  conducted — the  difference  between  land  and 
water.  The  principle  is  the  same,  whether  you  promote 
commerce  by  opening  for  it  an  artificial  channel  where 
now  there  is  none,  or  by  increasing  the  ease  or  safety  with 


160  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

which  it  may  be  conducted  through  a  natural  channel, 
which  the  bounty  of  Providence  hag  bestowed.  In  the 
one  case,  your  object  is  to  facilitate  arrival  and  departure 
from  the  ocean  to  the  land ;  in  the  other,  it  is  to  accom- 
plish the  same  object  from  the  land  to  the  ocean.  Physi- 
cal obstacles  may  be  greater  in  the  one  case  than  in  the 
other,  but  the  moral,  or  constitutional  power,  equally  in- 
cludes both." 

The  majority  by  which  Mr.  C.  prevailed  in  the  final 
vote,  was  far  beyond  his  own  expectation.  His  majority 
in  1818  was  less  than  twenty,  but  it  went  on  increasing, 
from  year  to  year,  and  now  it  was  such  as  to  show  the 
inability  of  protracted  opposition  to  the  cause  of  Internal 
Improvements ;  at  least,  during  Mr.  C.'s  stay  in  congress. 
Its  enemies  were  disarmed.  Not  a  few  of  them  had  the 
magnanimity  to  unite  in  support  of  the  system,  which  they 
had  before  felt  it  their  duty  to  assail ;  and  there  seemed  no 
further  obstacle  to  such  an  application  of  the  wealth  and 
energies  of  the  Republick,  as,  in  the  lapse  of  time,  shouM 
make  our  territory  the  Paradise  of  the  world.  Obstacles 
have  since  arisen ;  but  we  trust  in  God,  that  the  majestick 
\,rork  of  years — builded  up  by  energies  so  unfailing  in 
their  perseverance  and  so  sublime  in  their  might — will  not 
l>e  lightly  prostrated. 

There  are  few  men  of  the  present  age,  the  renown  of  whose 
whole  lives  might  not  be  wisely  exchanged  for  the  empyre- 
an flame  of  glory,  that  is  to  rest  upon  the  name  of  "  CLAY," 
for  his  exertions  in  the  single  cause  of  Internal  Improve- 
ments. What  are  the  specifick  results,  to  which  those  ex- 
ertions are  to  lead  ? — The  computation  is  scarce  within 
the  capacity  of  a  human  intellect.  The  desert  will  blos- 
som as  the  rose,  and  new  streams  will  start  into  being,  as  at 
the  voice  of  Omnipotence,  bearing  wealth  and  beauty  upon 
thrir  tide,  ministering  to  the  noble  commerce  of  mind,  and, 


HENRY   CLAY.  161 

our  whole  country  will,  as  it  were,  be  created  anew,  with 
greater  powers  and  enlarged  capacities. 

From  such  sources  is  to  spring  a  portion  of  the  fame  of 
Henry  Clay.  Not  simply  inscribed  upon  an  obelisk,  that 
may  crumble  away  into  common  earth,  but  graven  upon 
his  country's  mightiest  plains,  cut  through  her  solid 
mountains,  and  notched  in  her  everlasting  rocks,  his  name 
will  live,  a  glory  and  a  benison  for  ever. 
14* 


162  BIOGRAPHY   OP 


SECTION  FOURTH. 

THE  subject  of  the  famous  Seminole  War  was  discussed 
in  congress,  in  January,  1817.  The  events  of  that  war 
have  been  so  thoroughly  investigated,  and  kept  so  con- 
stantly before  the  public,  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  our 
giving  them  in  very  minute  detail. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  conflict  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  in  1813,  the  majority  of  the 
Seminoles  took  part  with  the  latter  power,  but  a  portion 
of  them  continued  friendly  to  us.  The  injury  done  us  by 
the  nation  was  certainly  very  considerable,  and  such  as  to 
call  for  a  prompt  and  efficient  remedy.  General  Andrew 
Jackson  was  accordingly  sent,  against  them,  at  the  head 
of  an  effective  military  force ;  and,  in  a  short  time,  they 
were  so  completely  reduced  by  famine  and  the  sword,  as 
to  be  unable  to  make  further  resistance.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, a  part  of  them  sued  for  peace  :  and  a  treaty 
was  drawn  up  at  Fort  Jackson,  in  August,  1814.  By  this 
treaty,  the  American  general  subjected  the  miserable 
natives  to  terms  more  odious  and  tyrannical,  than  even  the 
Goths  and  Vandals,  who  passed,  like  a  flight  of  locusts, 
over  tbe  hills  and  valleys  of  Europe,  blasting  every  green 
thing,  were  ever  known  to  impose  upon  a  conquered  peo- 
ple. Although  the  condition  of  the  Indians  was  so  pitiable, 
that  our  people  were  absolutely  required  to  save  them  from 
starvation  by  gratuitous  supplies  of  bread  ;  although  they 
were  bending  down  before  us  as  humbly  and  as  helplessly 
ns  they  could  have  knelt  before  their  God — the  chieftain- 
conqueror,  forgetting,  perhaps,  the  eternal  principles  of 


HENRY    CLAY.  163 

justice  and  mercy  in  the  intensity  of  his  patriotism,  refused 
to  grant  them  peace,  unless  they  would  yield  a  large  por- 
tion of  their  territory,  convey  to  the  United  States  impor- 
tant powers  and  privileges  over  the  remainder,  and  sur- 
render into  his  hands  the  prophets  of  their  nation.  A  treaty 
to  this  effect  was  signed  by  all  those  chiefs,  who  had  been 
friendly  to  our  country ;  but  it  has  been  asserted,  that  not 
one  of  the  hostile  chiefs,  who,  with  their  followers,  consti- 
tuted at  least  two  thirds  of  the  nation,  affixed  his  mark  to 
the  instrument. 

It  will  not  be  thought  surprising,  that,  after  the  date  of 
this  nominal  peace,  occasional  acts  of  hostility  continued 
to  be  perpetrated  on  our  frontier  by  individuals  of  the  Semi- 
nole  nation.  We  know  not,  indeed,  that  these  acts  were 
at  all  reprehensible.  In  a  letter  from  ten  of  the  Seminole 
towns  to  the  commanding  officer  of  Fort  Hawkins,  under 
date  of  September  llth,  1817,  it  was  stated,  with  every 
appearance  of  honesty  and  good  faith,  that,  from  the  day 
of  the  treaty  of  Fort  Jackson  up  to  that  time,  not  a  single 
white  man  had  been  killed  by  them,  but  in  revenge  for  the 
v;anton  murder  of  an  Indian.  The  governor  of  Georgia, 
who  was  acquainted  with  all  the  facts,  expressed  his 
opinion  that  the  Seminoles  were  not  in  fault.  Even  if  they 
designed,  by  their  occasional  deeds  of  violence,  to  mani- 
fest their  determination  of  not  abiding  by  the  treaty  of 
Fort  Jackson,  it  seems  to  us,  that  their  conduct  was  nut 
wholly  unjustifiable.  As  that  treaty  had  been  signed  by 
only  one  third  of  the  chiefs,  we  may  well  question,  whe- 
ther its  provisions  could,  by  any  possible  construction,  be 
considered  obligatory  on  the  nation ;  and,  if  they  could 
not,  the  Seminoles  had  a  right  to  demand,  that,  instead  of 
holding  their  territory,  we  should  extend  to  them  the  bene- 
fit of  the  ninth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  whereby  we 
had  bound  ourselves  to  grant  peace  to  all  the  Indians, 


164  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

with  whom,  we  might  be  at  war  at  the  time  of  the  ratification 
of  the  said  treaty,  and  to  restore  them  their  conquered 
lands.  And  besides :  even  admitting,  that  the  treaty  of 
Fort  Jackson  was  as  valid  as  it  could  have  been  rendered 
by  the  signatures  of  all  the  chiefs,  still  its  whole  character 
was  so  grossly  and  manifestly  oppressive,  that  the  poor 
Indians  who  were  the  victims  of  it,  had,  if  we  mistake  not, 
a  right,  under  the  immutable  laws  of  nature,  to  rise  at  the 
first  opportunity,  and  redeem  themselves  from  vassalage. 
A  people  may  sometimes  be  reduced  by  war  to  such  an 
extremity  of  wretchedness,  as  to  be  willing  to  yield  their 
property  and  their  liberties  for  the  sake  of  a  temporary 
peace ;  but,  if  their  conqueror  avails  himself  of  their  pros- 
tration, to  demand  every  thing,  which,  in  the  depth  of  their 
misery,  they  will  consent  to  grant,  he  may  rest  assured, 
that,  as  soon  as  the  first  feeling  of  strength  comes  over  them, 
they  will,  with  one  accord,  shiver  their  fetters  into  frag- 
ments, and  rush  again  to  battle. 

These  facts  and  reasonings  are  suggested  to  show,  that. 
although  it  may  have  been  our  duty  to  quell  the  hostili- 
ties which  took  place  after  the  treaty  of  Fort  Jackson,  we 
ought  not,  in  doing  this,  to  have  treated  the  wretched 
Indians  as  outlaws,  but  rather  to  have  conducted  toward 
them  with  all  the  lenity  that  was  consistent  with  prompti- 
tude and  efficiency  of  action.  But  what  was  our  course  ? 
General  Jackson,  who  had  once  subdued  the  natives  and 
ground  them  and  their  wigwams  to  the  dust,  was  sent 
again  to  attack  them;  and  the  atrocities  which  he  dis- 
played toward  them  in  this  second  war,  as  well  as  the 
contempt  which  he  showed  for  the  rights  of  neutral  pow- 
ers, have  no  parallel  in  our  military  annals. 

The  high-handed  and  lawless  measures  of  General 
Jackson  during  the  campaign,  were  well  calculated  to 
alarm  the  friends  of  the  constitution.  Accordingly,  a 


HENRY   CLAY.  165 

scries  of  resolutions  was  offered  to  congress  at  the  session 
of  1818-19,  expressing,  in  decided  though  respectful  lan- 
guage, a  disapprobation  of  the  chieftain's  conduct,  and 
proposing  a  legislative  provision  against  the  occurrence  of 
farther  outrages  of  the  same  description. 

Grateful  for  General  Jackson's  military  services,  and, 
perhaps,  dazzled  by  the  brilliancy  of  his  immortal  victory 
at  New-Orleans  on  the  8th  of  January,  1815,  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  cabinet  were  strongly  disposed  to  overlook 
his  errors ;  and  every  effort  was  made  to  prevent  the  pas- 
sage of  the  resolutions  before  congress.  Indeed  it  required 
no  little  moral  courage,  at  that  day,  to  come  forward  as 
tne  publick  accuser  of  Andrew  Jackson ;  and  any  thing 
that  might  be  said  against  him,  seemed  likely  to  be  lost  in 
the  whirlwind  of  huzzas,  which  was  sweeping  wildly 
over  the  land.  Of  all  the  great  men  in  congress,  Mr.  Clay 
alone  appeared  able  to  appreciate  the  empty  shouts  of  the, 
.multitude,  and  to  turn  a  calm  and  searching  look  upon, 
the  flashing  pageantry  of  military  glory.  He  had  a  light 
within  his  own  soul — the  immortal  light  of  patriotism 
and  of  intellect — with  which  he  had  been  too  long  fa-, 
miliar  to  be  dazzled  and  bewildered  by  the  pomp  and 
glitter  of  heroick  renown.  He  had  been  the  personal  friend 
of  General  Jackson;  he  had  rejoiced,  with  a  patriot's  en- 
thusiasm, in  the  deeds  of  the  chieftain,  so  long  as  they 
were  restrained  within  the  limits  of  legal  authority ;  but 
now  he  stood  forth  to  vindicate  the  majesty  of  the  consti-. 
tution,  in  defiance  of  whatever  might  oppose  him.  It  was 
:<not  that  he  loved  Caesar  less,  but  that  he  loved  his 
country  more." 

One  of  the  measures  of  General  Jackson,  which  Mr. 
Clay  reprobated  in  his  speech  before  congress,  was  the 
massacre  of  Indian  prisoners.  The  general's  first  step  in 
the  campaign  had  been  to  decoy  the  Seminole  chiefs  into 


166  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

his  camp  by  the  stratagem  of  a  false  flag,  and  to  hang 
them,  like  dogs,  upon  the  first  tree.  Not  content  with 
this  offering  to  vengeance,  he  afterwards  put  to  death 
prisoners  of  the  humblest  rank,  with  a  cold-bloodedness 
which  might  have  led  a  spectator  to  imagine,  that  the 
American  army,  while  annihilating  every  other  vestige  of 
the  aborigines,  was  determined  to  take  up  and  perpetuate 
their  peculiar  spirit  of  atrocity — the  only  relick  saved 
from  the  ruins  of  a  mighty  people.  Mr.  C.  claimed,  that 
this  barbarity  of  Jackson  was  wholly  wanton  and  gratui- 
tous ;  that  it  could  have  no  possible  tendency  to  intimidate 
the  Indian  tribes,  who,  it  is  well  understood,  never 
trouble  themselves  about  the  fate  of  an  enemy's  prisoners; 
that  the  only  motive  for  it  must  have  been  an  open  and 
undisguised  spirit  of  revenge ;  and,  that  it  was  directly 
opposed  to  what  had  been  the  usage  of  the  American 
heroes,  no  one  of  whom  was  ever  known  to  treat  an  un- 
armed captive,  whether  coming  from  the  courts  of  Eu- 
rope or  from  the  western  forests,  but  with  forbearance  and 
humanity.  He  insisted  that,  as  the  practice  of  extending 
mercy  to  Indian  prisoners  had  uniformly  prevailed  from 
the  earliest  sera  of  our  history,  it  was  a  portion  of  the  com- 
mon law  of  the  land,  and  no  military  commander,  how- 
ever high  in  station  or  renowned  in  exploit,  was  at  liberty 
to  disregard  it.  The  following  remarks  are  beautiful  and 
forcible. 

.  "When did  this  humane  custom,  by  which,  in  consider- 
ation of  Indian  ignorance  and  our  enlightened  condition 
the  rigours  of  war  were  mitigated,  begin? — At  a  time 
when  we  were  weak  and  they  were  comparatively  strong 
• — when  they  were  the  lords  of  the  soil,  and  we  were 
seeking  to  gain  an  asylum  among  them.  And  when  is 
it  proposed  to  change  this  custom — to  substitute  for  it  the 
bloody  maxims  of  barbarous  ages,  and  to  interpolate  the 


HENRY  CLAV.  167 

Indian  publick  law  with  revolting  cruelties  ?  At  a  time, 
when  the  situation  of  the  two  parties  is  totally  changed — 
when  we  are  powerful  and  they  are  weak — at  a  time, 
when,  to  use  a  figure  drawn  from  their  own  sublime  elo- 
quence, the  great  wave,  which  has  flowed  in  from  the 
Atlantick  ocean,  has  driven  back  the  poor  children  of  the 
forest  almost  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and, 
overwhelming  them  in  its  terrible  progress,  has  left  no 
other  remains  of  hundreds  of  tribes,  now  extinct,  than 
those  which  indicate  the  remote  existence  of  their  former 
companion,  the  Mammoth  of  the  New  World! — Yes,  sir, 
it  is  at  this  auspicious  period  of  our  country,  when  we  hold 
a  proud  and  lofty  station  among  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
that  we  are  called  upon  to  sanction  a  departure  from  the 
established  laws  and  usages,  which  have  regulated  our 
Indian  hostilities.  And  do  gentlemen  think,  in  this  au- 
gust body,  this  enlightened  assembly  of  Christians  and 
Americans,  by  glowing  appeals  to  our  passions,  to  make 
us  forget  our  principles,  our  religion,  our  clemency,  and 
our  humanity  ?" 

Another  lawless  measure,  which  Mv.  Clay  discussed  at 
considerable  length,  was  General  Jackson's  treatment  of 
Messrs.  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister,  two  Englishmen,  who 
had  been  trading  with  the  Seminoles,  and  who,  in  the 
course  of  the  campaign,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Ameri- 
can army.  Ambrister  was  taken  in  the  Indian  camp,  and 
was  suspected  of  having  led  the  savages  to  battle ;  but 
Arbuthnot  was  seized  within  the  limits  of  a  neutral  terri- 
tory, and  was  charged  with  no  other  crime  than  that  of 
informing  the  Indians,  that  the  treaty  of  Ghent  gave  them 
a  right  to  their  lost  territory,  and  advising  them  to  recover 
it,  if  necessary,  by  force  of  arms.  General  Jackson  gave 
orders,  that  both  the  prisoners  should  be  tried  by  a  court 
martial.  The  court  sentenced  them  to  death,  but,  upon  a 


168  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

re-consideration  of  the  testimony,  revoked  the  sentence  of 
Ambrister,  and  decided,  that  he  should  merely  be  punished 
with  fifty  stripes.  The  General,  however,  not  choosing  to 
abide  by  the  decision  of  the  tribunal,  to  which  he  himself 
had  voluntarily  referred  the  fate  of  his  prisoners,  caused 
both  of  them  to  be  executed  without  delay.  In  his  report  to 
government,  he  stated,  that  the  prisoners  had  been  "legally 
convicted,  legally  condemned,  and  justly  executed." 
God  forgive  him.  The  whole  legality,  at  least  of  Ar- 
buthnot's  execution,  consisted  in  the  caprice  of  General 
Jackson,  and  his  reckless  defiance  of  the  proceedings  of 
court. 

Mr.  Clay  proved  the  chieftain's  conduct  in  this  affair 
so  entirely  wrong,  and  so  grossly  at  war  with  the  first 
principles  of  law  and  justice,  that  every  honest  and  un- 
prejudiced man  in  the  house  of  representatives  must  have 
yielded  at  once  to  conviction.  The  principle  on  which 
Jackson  himself  relied  to  justify  his  treatment  of  Arbuth- 
not  and  Ambrister,  is  to  be  found  in  his  general  orders  for 
their  execution.  He  says,  "it  is  an  established  principle 
of  the  law  of  nations,  that  any  individual  of  a  nation, 
making  war  against  the  citizens  of  any  other  nation,  they 
being  at  peace,  forfeits  his  allegiance,  and  becomes  an 
outlaw  and  a  pirate."  Now  suppose,  that  Arbuthnot  and 
Ambrister  were  "  outlaws  and  pirates" — what  right  had 
General  Jackson,  either  to  execute  the  former  on  the  au- 
thority of  a  court  martial,  or  the  latter  on  his  own  autho- 
rity ? — Outlaws  and  pirates  are  amenable  to  the  civil  au- 
thority, and  not  to  individuals  or  a  court  martial;  and, 
if  such  was  the  character  of  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister,  it 
•was  the  General's  duty  to  retain  them  as  prisoners,  to  be 
tried  in  a  court  of  justice.  He  cannot  be  justified  upon  hit 
vton  principles. 

Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister,  however,  did  not  become  "out- 


HENRY  CLAY.  169 

laws  and  pirates,"  by  connecting  themselves  with  the  In- 
dian tribes,  who  were  at  war  with  us.  Even  if  both  of 
them  had  actually  taken  up  arms  against  us — and  it  has 
been  proved,  that  one  of  them  did  not — the  fact  would 
simply  have  identified  them  with  the  Indians,  and  made 
them  liable  to  the  same  treatment  from  us,  that  we  arc 
authorized,  by  the  law  of  nations,  to  extend  to  other  open 
and  avowed  enemies.  This  position  Mr.  Clay  illustrated 
by  the  practice  of  all  nations  in  all  ages.  Its  validity  is 
unquestionable.  In  the  days  of  our  revolution,  England 
and  Poland  were  at  peace ;  but  who  has  ever  called  tha 
illustrious  and  chivalrick  Pulaski  an  "outlaw"  or  a 
"  pirate,"  for  drawing  his  sword  in  defence  of  American 
liberty  ?  During  the  Seminole  war,  there  were  probably 
in  General  Jackson's  own  army,  the  subjects  of  almost 
every  power  in  Europe ;  and  these  men  were  as  much 
"pirates"  and  "outlaws"  for  fighting  against  the  Indians, 
with  whom  their  respective  countries  were  at  peace,  as 
Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister  could  have  been  for  fighting 
against  the  citizens  of  the  United  States.  "  Are  gentle- 
men prepared,"  said  Mr.  Clay,  "  to  return  to  their  respect- 
ive districts  with  this  doctrine  in  their  mouths,  and  say  to 
their  English,  Scotch,  and  other  foreign  constituents — 
you  are  liable,  in  the  event  of  war,  to  be  treated  as  outlaws 
and  pirates?" 

It  may  be  true,  that  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister  influenced 
the  Indians  to  undertake  the  war.  What  then  ? — This 
could  not  justify  their  being  sentenced  to  death  by  any  tri- 
bunal whatever,  much  less  by  a  court  martial,  or  by  An- 
drew Jackson,  in  defiance  of  a  court  martial.  "If,"  said 
Mr.  "Clay,  "  William  Pitt  had  been  taken  by  the  French 
army,  during  the  late  European  war,  could  France  have 
jnstifiably  executed  him,  on  the  ground  of  his  having  no- 
toriously instigated  the  continental  powers  to  war  against 
15 


170  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

France  ? — Would  France,  if  she  had  stained  her  charac- 
ter by  executing  him,  have  obtained  the  sanction  of  the 
world  to  the  act,  by  appeals  to  the  passions  and  the  pre- 
judices, by  pointing'  to  the  cities  sacked,  the  countries  laid 
waste,  the  human  lives  sacrificed  in  the  wars  he  had 
kindled,  and  by  exclaiming-  to  the  unfortunate  captive, 
'you !  miscreant,  monster,  have  occasioned  all  these  scenes 
of  devastation  and  blood  ?'  What  has  been  the  conduct, 
even  of  England,  towards  the  greatest  instigator  of  all  the 
present  age? — The  condemnation  of  that  illustrious  man 
to  the  rock  of  St.  Helena  is  a  great  blot  on  the  English 
name.  On  that  transaction,  history  will  one  day  pass  its 
severe  but  just  sentence.  Yes,  although  Napoleon  has 
desolated  half  Europe;  although  there  is  scarce  a  pow- 
er, however  humble,  that  escaped  the  mighty  grasp  of  his 
ambition ;  although,  in  the  course  of  his  splendid  career, 
he  is  charged  with  having  committed  the  greatest  atro- 
cities, disgraceful  to  himself  and  to  human  nature,  yet 
gyen  his  life  has  been  spared.  The  allies  would  not, 
England  would  not  execute  him,  upon  the  ground  of  his 
being  an  instigator  of  wars." 

We  have  stated,  that  General  Jackson  ordered  the 
execution  of  Ambrister  in  opposition  to  the  sentence  of  the 
court  martial.  To  justify  this  open  departure  from  all 
form,  the  chieftain's  defenders  in  congress  insisted,  that 
every  commanding  officer  has  an  inherent  right  in  himself 
to  retaliate  upon  his  enemies  according  to  his  own  discre- 
tion ;  and,  consequently,  that  General  J.  might  justly  have 
ordered  the  execution  of  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister  without 
the  formality  of  a  trial.  If  this  were  admitted,  it  could 
avail  nothing  in  the  present  case.  After  General  JacKson 
had,  of  his  own  accord,  appealed  to  the  court,  his  right  of 
deciding  the  case  for  himself,  if  ever  it  existed,  was  volun- 
tarily surrendered.  But  Mr.  Clay  proved,  in  his  argu- 


HENRY    CLAY.  171 

ment,  that  the  right  of  retaliation,  which  was  claimed  for' 
the  hero,  could  not  belong  to  him.  Mr.  C.'s  doctrine  was, 
that  the  power  of  retaliation  was  an  attribute  of  sove- 
reignty: that  it  was  comprehended  in  the  war-making1 
power  possessed  by  congress ;  that,  although  retaliation 
might  be  a  principle  of  the  law  of  nations,  it  belonged  to 
the  civil  authority  to  constitute  the  tribunal  for  applying 
that  principle;  that  the  execution,  even  of  spies,  had  not 
been  left  to  the  discretion  of  commanding  officers,  but  to 
a  tribunal  provided  by  government;  that,  in  this  free 
country,  the  majesty  of  the  law  surrounded  every  prisoner, 
and  he  could  not  be  justly  executed,  without  its  being 
shown,  not  only  that  the  law  had  condemned  him  to  death, 
but  that  his  sentence  had  been  pronounced  by  the  tribunal, 
which  was  authorized  by  the  law  to  try  him ;  that  to  con- 
centrate in  one  individual  the  power  to  make,  judge,  and 
execute  the  law,  was  the  very  definition  of  despotism;  that 
a  military  commander,  who  had  not  even  the  disposal  of 
the  property,  which  he  might  take  by  reprisals  upon  an 
enemy,  could  much  less  claim  the  disposal  of  the  lives  of 
his  prisoners;  that  the  power  of  retaliation,  whenever 
deemed  necessary  in  the  past  history  of  the  United  States, 
had  been  conferred  by  an  express  provision  of  congress ; 
that  it  had  never  been  conferred,  even  for  a  limited  time 
and  purpose,  upon  any  functionary  subordinate  to  the 
chief  magistrate  ;  and  that  even  the  father  of  the  alien  and 
sedition  laws,  had  never  thought,  amid  all  his  usurpa- 
tions of  power,  of  claiming  it  as  an  inherent  right. 

In  respect  to  Arbuthnot,  who  was  made  a  prisoner 
within  the  territory  of  a  neutral  people,  Mr.  C.  held  his 
execution  to  be  more  atrocious  than  that  greatest  of  all 
the  atrocities  of  Napoleon,  the  execution  of  Louis  of 
France.  Louis,  like  Jackson's  victim,  was  taken  in  a 
neutral  territory ;  but  he  was,  at  least,  put  to  death  ac- 


172  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

cording  to  his  sentence,  and  the  neutral  ground  was  npt 
stained  by  his  blood. 

The  other  offences  of  General  Jackson,  which  Mr.  C. 
deemed  obnoxious  to  censure,  consisted  in  the  outrages  that 
he  committed  upon  the  Spanish  authorities,  while  enga- 
ged in  the  subjugation  of  the  Seminoles.  Here  he  had 
literally  taken  into  his  own  hands  the  war-making  power, 
and  exercised  it  without  control.  At  the  opening  of  the 
campaign,  he  received  orders  from  the  war  department,  at 
Washington,  to  pass,  if  necessary,  into  the  Spanish  terri- 
tory, but,  under  all  circumstances,  to  respect  the  local  au- 
thorities. Even  if  the  Indians  should  take  shelter  under  a 
Spanish  fortress,  he  was  not  to  make  an  attack  upon  it, 
but  to  report  the  fact  to  the  war  department,  -and  wait  for 
further  orders.  We  were  then  carrying  on  a  negotiation 
with  Spain  ;  and  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance,  that  the 
amicable  relations  between  the  two  countries  should  not 
be  interrupted.  What  did  General  Jackson  do  ? — Instead 
of  obeying  the  orders  of  government,  he  reduced  St. 
Marks,  a  Spanish  fortress,  and  occupied  it  with  his  own 
troops,  near  the  close  of  March,  1818.  By  the  200i  of 
April,  he  had  effectually  put  an  end  to  the  war,  and  soon 
afterwards  he  commenced  his  return  march.  His  careei 
of  violence,  however,  was  not  yet  closed.  On  the  23d  of 
May,  he  received  a  letter  from  the  Spanish  governor  at 
Pcnsacola,  complaining  of  his  unprovoked  and  unaccount- 
able attack  upon  St.  Marks,  and  warning  him,  that  any 
future  aggression  of  the  kind  would  be  met  by  force.  The 
letter  was  precisely  what  any  brave  man,  determined  to 
maintain  his  own  honour  and  that  of  his  nation,  would 
have  written ;  but  General  Jackson  considered  it  a  per- 
sonal insult,  and,  marching  instantly  for  Pensacola,  took 
possession  6t  it  oa  the  following  day,  and,  shortly  after- 


HENRY   CLAY.  173 

wards,  reduced  the  main  fortress  of  San  Carlos  de  Baran- 
cas  by  force  of  arms. 

It  would  seem,  indeed,  as  if  even  infatuation  itself 
could  not  have  attempted  to  justify  General  Jackson  for 
such  flagitious  violations  of  the  rights  of  Spain ;  yet  the 
attempt  was  made.  As  an  excuse  for  taking  St.  Marks, 
the  general  had  informed  the  war  department,  in  a  letter 
dated  a  day  or  two  prior  to  the  event,  that  he  thought  the 
place  a  convenient  depot  for  his  military  operations,  and 
was  moreover  afraid,  that,  unless  he  took  it,  it  would  fall 
into  the  -hands  of  the  Indians.  The  former  reason  is  too 
absurd  for  notice,  and  the  latter  is  but  little  better.  He 
tould  not  be  afraid,  that  the  Indians  would  possess  them- 
selves of  St.  Marks.  At  his  bare  approach,  the  frightened 
fugitives  fied  in  all  directions,  without  lifting  a  hand 
against  him  ;  and,  when  he  had  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  fortress,  there  was  scarce  an  Indian  in  all  that  section 
of  country.  Mr.  Clay  compared  the  capture  of  the  fort  .to 
the  seizure,  by  Lord  Nelson,  of  the  Danish  fleet  at  Copen- 
hagen— a  deed,  for  which  England  has  been  more  cen- 
sured than  for  almost  any  other  event  in  her  history. 
England  pretended  to  be  afraid,  that  the  fleet  of  Denmark, 
unless  taken  by  her,  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  Bonaparte, 
who  was  then  playing  "the  game  of  empires"  upon  the 
Eastern  continent.  Did  this  reason  avail  Britain  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world  ? — No.  She  has  found  no  refuge  from 
the  storm  of  execration,  that  has  been  poured  upon  her  for 
her  conduct.  "And  yet,"  said  Mr.  Clay,  "she,  perhaps, 
was  struggling  for  her  existence.  She  was  combatting, 
single-handed,  the  most  enormous  military  power,  that  the 
world  had  ever  known.  Whom  were  we  contending  with? 
With  a  few  half-starved,  half-clothed,  wretched  Indians 
and  fugitive  slaves.  And,  whilst  carrying  on  this  inglo- 
rious war — inglorious  as  it  regards  the  laurels  or  renown 
15* 


174  BIOGRAPHY  OP 

won  in  it — we  violate  neutral  rights  which  the  government 
had  solemnly  pledged  itself  to  respect,  upon  the  principle  of 
convenience,  or,  upon  the  light  of  presumption,  that,  by 
]K>ssibility,  a  post  might  be  taken  by  this  miserable  com- 
bination of  Indians  and  fugitive  slaves  !" 

For  the  capture  of  Pensacola  and  the  Barancas,  no 
reason  was  assigned  in  congress  by  General  J.'s  friends, 
which  he  himself  would  not  probably  have  disdained  to 
acknowledge.  He  never  pretended  to  be  apprehensive, 
that  the  Indians  would  occupy  these  places,  and  he  seems 
to  have  attacked  them  from  no  other  motive  than  that  of 
resentment  for  what  he  conceived  to  be  a  personal  indig- 
nity offered  him  in  the  letter  of  the  Spanish  governor. 
Mr.  Monroe  immediately  restored  them  to  Spain, 
acknowledging,  that  the  holding  of  them  would  be  just 
cause  of  war ;  and  yet  he  and  his  cabinet  used  their  influ- 
ence to  save  General  Jackson  from  legislative  censure. 
Theirs  was  the  anomalous  and  inexplicable  doctrine,  that 
Jackson  had  a  right  to  reduce  the  places,  but  that  the 
government  had  no  right  to  occupy  them. 

We  give  below  the  close  of  Mr.  Clay's  address.  It  is 
fervid  and  eloquent — depicting,  in  -dark  and  gloomy 
colours,  the  dangers  that  spring  from  the  power  of  mili- 
tary chieftains,  spurning  at  civil  authority,  and  leaving 
their  bloody  foot-prints  upon  a  broken  constitution.  It 
exhibits  the  wisdom  of  a  mind  which  has  learned  the 
tendencies  of  unbridled  military  authority,  by  looking- 
back  upon  the  awful  work  that  it  has  done — by  contem- 
plating, with  a  philosophick  eye,  the  ocean  of  history, 
whose  dim  shores  have  been  paved  with  the  wrecks  of 
fallen  empires. 

"  Recall  to  your  recollection  the  free  nations  which 
liuve  gone  before  us.  Where  are  they  now  ? 


HENRY  CLAY.  175 

Oone  glimmering  through  the  dream  of  things,  that  were — 
A  school-boy's  tale,  the  wonder  of  an  hour. 

And  how  have  they  lost  their  liberties  ?  If  we  could 
transport  ourselves  back  to  the  ages,  when  Greece  and 
Rome  flourished  in  their  greatest  prosperity,  and,  mingling 
in  the  throng,  stould  ask  a  Grecian  if  he  did  not  fear  that 
some  daring  military  chieftain,  covered  with  glory,  some 
Philip  or  Alexander,  would  one  day  overthrow  the  liber- 
ties of  his  country — the  confident  and  indignant  Grecian 
would  exclaim,  no!  no! — we  have  nothing  to  fear  from 
our  heroes :  our  liberties  will  be  eternal.  If  a  Roman 
citizen  had  been  asked,  if  he  did  not  fear  that  the  con- 
queror of  Gaul  might  establish  a  throne  upon  the  ruins  of 
publick  liberty,  he  would  instantly  have  repelled  the  un- 
just insinuation.  Yet  Greece  has  fallen,  Caesar  passed 
the  Rubicon,  and  the  patriotick  arm,  even  of  Brutus,  could 
not  preserve  the  liberties  of  his  devoted  country  ! 

"  We  are  fighting  a  great  moral  battle,  for  the  benefit, 
not  only  of  our  own  country,  but  of  all  mankind.  The 
eyes  of  the  whole  world  are  in  fixed  attention  upon  us. 
One,  and  the  largest  portion  of  it,  is  gazing  with  contempt, 
with  jealousy,  and  with  envy ;  the  other  portion,  with 
hope,  with  confidence,  and  with  affection.  Every  where 
the  black  cloud  of  legitimacy  is  suspended  over  the  world, 
save  only  one  bright  spot,  which  breaks  out  from  the  po- 
litical hemisphere  of  the  West,  to  enlighten  and  animate 
and  gladden  the  human  heart.  Obscure  that,  by  the 
downfall  of  liberty  here,  and  all  mankind  are  shrouded  in 
a  pall  of  universal  darkness.  To  you,  Mr.  Chairman, 
belongs  the  high  privilege  of  transmitting  unimpaired  to 
posterity,  the  fair  character  and  liberty  of  our  country. 
Do  you  expect  to  execute  this  high  trust  by  trampling,  or 
suffering  to  be  trampled  down,  law,  justice,  the  constitu- 
tion, and  the  rights  of  other  people  ?  By  exhibiting  exam- 


176  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

pies  of  inhumanity,  and  cruelty,  and  ambition  ?  When 
the  minions  of  despotism  heard,  in  Europe,  of  the  seizure 
of  Pensacola,  how  did  they  chuckle,  and  chide  the  admi- 
rers of  our  institutions,  tauntingly  pointing  to  the  demon- 
stration of  a  spirit  of  injustice  and  aggrandisement  made 
by  our  country,  in  the  midst  of  amicable  negotiation. 
Behold,  said  they,  the  conduct  of  those  who  are  constantly 
reproaching  kings.  You  saw  how  those  admirers  were 
astounded  and  hung  their  heads.  You  saw,  too,  when 
that  illustrious  man  who  presides  over  us,  adopted  his 
pacifick,  moderate,  and  just  course,  how  they  once  more 
lifted  up  their  heads,  with  exultation  and  delight  beaming 
in  their  countenances.  And  you  saw  how  those  minions 
themselves  were  finally  compelled  to  unite  in  the  general 
praises  bestowed  upon  our  government.  Beware  how 
you  forfeit  this  exalted  character.  Beware  how  you  give 
a  fatal  sanction,  in  this  infant  period  of  our  republick, 
scarcely  yet  two  score  years  old,  to  military  insubordina- 
tion. Remembe^  that  Greece  had  her  Alexander,  Rome 
her  Caesar,  England  her  Cromwell,  France  her  Bonaparte, 
and,  that,  if  we  would  escape  the  rock  on  which  they 
split,  we  must  avoid  their  errors. 

"  I  hope  gentlemen  will  deliberately  survey  the  awful 
isthmus  on  which  we  stand.  They  may  bear  down  al) 
opposition ;  they  may  even  vote  the  general  the  publick 
thanks;  they  may  carry  him  triumphantly  through  this 
house.  But  if  they  do,  in  my  humble  judgement,  it  will 
be  a  triumph  of  the  principle  of  insubordination — a  triumph 
of  the  military  over  the  civil  authority — a  triumph  over 
the  powers  of  this  house — a  triumph  over  the  constitution 
of  the  land.  And  I  pray  most  devoutly  to  Heaven,  that 
it  may  not  prove,  in  its  ultimate  effects  and  consequences, 
a  triumph  over  the  liberties  of  the  people:' 

This  speech  of  Mr.  Clay,  though  in  all  respects  equal 


HENRY    CLAY.  177 

to  the  splendid  orations  of  Sheridan  in  the  case  of  Warren 
Hastings,  or  of  the  most  magnificent  of  the  philippicks  of 
Burke,  was  not,  like  them,  fraught  with  a  spirit  that 
seemed  raging  and  maddening  for  a  victim.  It  breathed 
not  a  spirit  of  vengeance,  but  of  unfeigned  regret — the 
spirit  of  one,  who  had  nerved  himself  to  the  performance 
of  a  stern  duty,  but  was  compelled,  after  all  his  efforts,  to 
"  strike  with  an  averted  face." 

Had  it  not  been,  for  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Monroe  and  his 
cabinet,  the  resolutions  of  censure,  so  triumphantly  sup- 
ported, would  have  passed  the  house  of  representatives 
without  difficulty.  Most  of  the  members,  when  they  first 
heard  of  General  Jackson's  proceedings,  were  startled  at 
his  unparalleled  temerity.  They  could  not  doubt,  that 
at  every  step  of  his  progress,  he  had  wantonly  sacrificed 
the  constitution  and  the  laws  to  the  bright  thoughts  of 
glory  and  the  dark  ones  of  revenge  ;  but  still  .his  fame  was 
so  high,  he  had  fought  so  bravely  on  one  great  and  memo- 
rable day  of  peril,  that  they  had  a  secret  longing  to  dis- 
cover some  pretext  for  permitting  him  to  pass  uncensured. 
Nothing  but  a  slight  apology  was  wanted.  Such  an  one 
was  found  in  the  wishes  and  professed  opinions  of  th& 
administration;  and  the  vote  of  censure  was  lost  by  a  small 
majority.  Had  Mr.  Clay  repeated  his  efforts  in  favour  of 
the  resolutions,  as  he  had  often  before  done  on  other  great 
national  questions,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  he  would 
have  carried  the  vote  of  the  house  with  him ;  but,  after 
giving  one  exposition  of  his  views  and  principles,  and 
ringing  in  his  country's  ear  one  deep  and  solemn  warning, 
he  believed  that  his  duty  was  discharged,  and  the  thought 
of  following  up  an  attack  upon  the  conduct  of  an  indi- 
vidual was  far  from  agreeable  to  his  feelings. 

The  intercourse  between  Mr.  Clay  and  General  Jack- 
son, which  had  before  been  of  an  amicable  nature,  was 


178  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

here  broken  off  The  general  arrived  at  Washington  the 
day  after  Mr.  C.'s  speech  was  delivered ;  and  the  latter, 
to  show  that  he  was  not  disposed  to  suffer  the  sentiments 
of  personal  friendship  to-be  interrupted  by  considerations 
of  a  publick  nature,  immediately  called  and  paid  his  re- 
spects to  the  chieftain  at  his  lodgings.  The  visit  was  not 
returned;  and  General  Jackson  afterwards  carried  his 
animosity  so  far,  as  to  refuse  to  interchange  the  common 
courtesies  of  life  with  the  man,  who  had  dared  to  doubt 
the  legality  of  his  conduct. 


HENRY   CLAY. 


SECTION  FIFTH. 

PROBABLY  the  name  of  Henry  Clay  is  hardly  ever 
tiientioned  at  the  present  period,  without  suggesting,  by 
an  irresistible  association,  the  American  system  for  the 
protection  of  home  industry — a  system,  into  which,  like 
that  of  Internal  Improvements,  he  breathed  the  breath  of 
life,  and  whiph  has  lived,  and  moved,  and  had  its  being, 
in  his  influence.  By  his  exertions  for  the  promotion  of 
this  system,  he  has  established  a  new  era  in  the  political 
economy  of  our  country. 

Prior  to  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  Mr.  Clay,  then  a 
member  of  the  senate,  proposed  that  certain  domestic  manu- 
factures should  be  encouraged  by  the  government.  The 
proposition  was  accepted,  and  became  a  law.  The  en- 
couragement, however,  which  was  thus  extended,  con- 
sisted merely  in  a  preference  which  the  government,  in* 
purchasing  the  munitions  of  war,  was  to  give  to  Ameri- 
can productions  over  those  of  any  other  country,  when  it 
could  be  done  without  detriment  to  the  publick  interest. 
The  system  of  protection  was  not  then  established. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  the  institution  of  a  new  tariff 
was  imperatively  demanded  by  a  variety  of  powerful  con- 
siderations. "The  successive  measures  of  restriction,  to 
which  the  government  had  resorted  to  avert  the  war,  and 
the  war  itself,  had  tempted  many  to  embark  in  the  busi- 
ness of  manufacturing ;  and  the  peace  found  numerous 
establishments,  yet  in  their  infancy,  struggling,  as  it  were, 
for  existence.  The  subject  accordingly  came  before  con- 
gress in  the  session  of  1815-16,  and  occupied,  for  a  long 


180  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

time,  its  most  anxious  attention.  Our  statesmen  and  poli- 
ticians were  then  comparatively  without  experience  in  this 
great  branch  of  national  economy,  and  could  not  be  ex- 
pected to  know,  save  from  the  reasonings  of  political  econo- 
mists, and  the  practical  results  exhibited  in  the  history  of 
other  nations,  what  system  of  policy  was  best  adapted  to 
the  permanent  prosperity  of  a  people's  industry.  Assu- 
ming the  expediency  of  protection,  great  embarrassment 
was  felt  in  the  adjustment  of  the  proper  measure  of  pro- 
tection. Mr.  Clay  was  then  a  zealous  advocate  for  the 
encouragement  of  our  manufacturers,  which  he  urged  on 
the  grounds  of  justice  to  the  manufacturers  themselves, 
who  had  been  forced  or  induced  to  engage  in  their  business 
by  the  policy  of  government,  which  they  could  not  con- 
trol, and  who  would  now  be  prostrated  by  the  flood  of 
foreign  merchandize  let  in  by  the  peace,  if  they  were  not 
sustained  by  the  parental  care  of  their  own  government. 
He  also  urged  it  on  the  broader  ground  of  national  utility. 
The  tariff  bill  was  passed ;  and  during  its  progress  through 
the  committee  of  the  whole  house,  where  alone  Mr.  Clay, 
«being  speaker,  could  participate  in  the  debate,  a  higher 
duty  was  adopted,  through  his  exertions,  for  the  important, 
article  of  woollens — a  duty,  which  would  have  saved  the 
manufacturer  of  that  essential  fabrick  from  much  subse- 
quent distress,  had  it  not  been  unfortunately  reduced  by  a 
small  majority  in  the  house. 

This  distress  continued  to  exist,  in  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree, till  1819-20,  at  which  time  the  subject  to  a  tariff 
was  again  before  congress,  and  Mr.  Clay  enforced  his 
views  of  the  policy  of  protection  with  a  spirit  and  elo- 
quence that  nothing  could  withstand.  The  obstacles  that 
opposed  him  were  great,  and,  to  a  timid  mind,  would  have 
appeared  insurmountable.  They  consisted  in  the  general 
prejudice  that  was  felt  against  an  untried  system  ;  in  the 


HENRY   CLAY.  181 

want  of  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  national  executive; 
in  the  secret  influence  of  British  factors ;  and  in  the  open 
opposition  of  nearly  all  the  powerful  capitalists  of  the 
country,  who  were  apprehensive  that  the  protection  of 
manufactures  would  interfere  with  their  own  peculiar 
gains.  When  Mr.  Clay  took  the  field  against  all  these 
impediments,  it  was  with  a  full  trust,  that  the  strength 
whereby  he  had  often  before  surmounted  or  put  aside  ob- 
stacles, which  rose  like  successive  ranges  of  mountains  in 
his  path,  would  again  avail  him  in  this  his  country's 
emergency.  He  justly  regarded  the  contest  in  which  he 
was  now  engaged,  as  a  struggle  for  the  perfect  independ- 
ence of  the  United  States.  Our  political  emancipation 
had  been  achieved  by  the  war  of  the  revolution ;  but,  in 
commerce,  we  were  yet  the  slaves  of  Britain,  dependent  on 
her  for  many  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  In  this  second 
war  of  Independence,  Henry  Clay  was  the  American 
leader,  as  Geo.  Washington  had  been  in  the  first ;  and,  if 
the  former  was  not  required  to  devote  to  his  work  so  many 
years  of  toil  and  peril  as  the  latter,  he,  at  least,  brought  to 
it  an  equal  share  of  moral  courage  and  intellectual  vigour ; 
and  every  step  of  his  difficult  progress  was  worthy  of  an 
immortal  trophy. 

As  a  reason  for  introducing  a  radical  change  into  the 
policy  of  the  country,  Mr.  Clay  showed,  that,  in  the  very 
course  of  nature,  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  United 
States  to  find  in  Europe  a  permanent  market  for  their  sur- 
plus productions.  The  population  of  the  United  States 
has  been  found  to  increase  in  a  ratio  four  times  as  great  as 
that  of  Europe ;  and  hence,  admitting  that  the  produce  of 
our  labour  keeps  pace  with  our  population,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  amount  of  this  produce  is  increasing  four  times 
as  fast  as  the  capacity  of  Europe  to  consume  it. 

What  were  the  most  effectual  means  of  rendering  our 
16 


182  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

selves  independent  of  foreign  markets,  which,  in  all  human 
probability,  would  be  unable,  at  the  end  of  fifty  years,  to 
receive  one  half  of  the  surplus  productions  of  our  country? 
There  was  no  other  mode  than  to  institute  markets  of  our 
own — to  establish  and  cherish  manufactories  of  cotton 
and  wool,  which,  while  they  enabled  us  to  provide  our 
own  clothing1,  would  divert  the  industry  of  a  part  of  our 
citizens  into  new  channels.  The  different  portions  of! our 
population  being  engaged  in  different  employments,  'one 
portion  would  be  the  consumers  of  the  surplus  produce  of 
another,  and  our  country  would  thus  become  a  world 
within  itself,  and  might  look  with  unconcern  upon  the 
condition  of  foreign  nations,  and  smile  at  the  commercial 
edicts  of  councils  and  fcings. 

The  victory  achieved  by  Mr.  Clay  on  this  occasion, 
was  equally  glorious  and  unexpected.  The  house  re-mo- 
delled the  tariff  of  1816,  and  laid  such  duties  on  foreign 
importations,  as,  it  was  supposed,  would  subserve  the  pur- 
poses of  protection.  The  measure  was,  however,  unfortu 
nately  defeated  in  the  senate. 

Experience  is  a  nation's  only  guide  in  fixing  a  wise 
and  efficacious  system  of  policy.  The  congressional  pro- 
visions, encouraging  our  manufactures,  went  into  opera- 
tion, but  owing  to  a  combination  of  causes  that  had  not 
been  foreseen,  they  proved  inadequate  to  the  object  for 
which  they  had  been  instituted.  Their  influence,  so  far 
as  it  extended,  was  beneficial ;  yet  they  only  served  to 
mitigate  evils,  which  were  still  almost  insufferable.  In 
1824,  depression  and  distress  were  visible  over  the  whole 
face  of  the  country.  They  were  apparent  in  the  diminu- 
tion of  our  exportations ;  in  the  reduced  condition  of  navi- 
gation and  commerce ;  in  the  quantity  of  grain  rotting  in 
our  store-houses  for  the  want  of  purchasers ;  in  the  unpre- 
cedented scarcity  of  money ;  in  the  want  of  employment 


HENRY  CLAY.  183 

among  the  labouring  classes;  and  in  the  alarming  depre- 
ciation of  the  value  of  the  whole  property  of  the  United 
States.  What  was  to  be  done?  This  question  it  was 
hard  to  solve,  for  the  causes  of  our  distress  were  misunder- 
stood. Misery  was  every  where  "rained  upon  men  like 
dew,"  but,  though  fearfully  visible  in  its  consequences,  it 
was  not  traced  home  to  its  hidden  springs. 

•  In  this  hour  of  peril  and  dismay,  when  all  hearts  were 
failing,  with  a  looking-for  of  ruin,  Mr.  Clay  again  came 
forward  upon  the  floor  of  congress  to  save  the  country  by 
his  counsels.  He  knew  his  influence,  and  felt,  almost  to 
agony,  the  awful  responsibility  of  the  moment.  Solemn 
and  impressive  as  he  always  is,  when  entering  into  tne 
discussion  of  the  great  interests  of  the  age,  he  was  per- 
haps never  known  to  manifest  so  deep  and  religious  a 
trust  in  the  aid  of  Him,  who  "can  fashion  at  will  the 
thoughts  and  passions  of  the  heart,"  as  on  this  occasion. 
"  If,"  said  he,  "  it  were  allowable  for  us,  at  the  present 
day,  to  imitate  ancient  examples,  I  would  invoke  the  aid 
of  the  MOST  HIGH.  I  would  anxiously  and  fervently 
implore  His  divine  assistance ;  that  He  would  be  gra- 
ciously pleased  to  shower  on  my  country  His  richest  bless- 
ings ;  and  that  he  would  sustain,  on  this  interesting  oc- 
casion, the  individual  who  stands  before  Him,  and  lend 
him  the  power,  moral  and  physical,  to  perform  the  solemn 
duties  which  now  belong  to  his  publick  station." 

After  a  glowing  exordium,  Mr.  Clay  entered  with  en- 
ergy upon  his  subject,  and  depicted  the  origin  of  the  ge- 
neral calamity  with  such  fearful  distinctness,  that  his  elo- 
quence seemed  the  drawing  aside  of  a  curtain — the  reve- 
lation of  a  long  hidden  mystery.  He  claimed  that  all  our 
distress  sprung  from  human  causes.  The  showers  of 
Heaven  fell  upon  our  fields  as  bountifully  as  ever ;  the 
morning  sun  and  the  evening  dew  still  visited  hill  and 


184  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

vaJley  with  their  quickening  power ;  the  yearly  offering1 
which  the  husbandman  cast  upon  the  earth  was  touched 
with  the  blessing  of  Heaven  as  visibly  as  the  sacrifice  of 
the  Prophet  of  old,  which  was  crowned  by  fire  at  the  hill 
of  Carmel;  no  "scourge  of  God"  was  passing  among  us, 
to  blast  our  plains  with  fire,  and  mingle  blood  in  the  foun- 
tains of  which  we  drank  ;  and  therefore,  whatever  might 
be  the  causes  of  the  distress  that  pervaded  the  land,  they 
were  to  be  sought  in  events  within  our  own  control. 

Mr.  C.  referred  all  the  evils  which  had  come  upon  us 
to  the  fact,  that,  during  nearly  the  whole  existence  of  our 
government,  we  had  shaped  our  commerce,  our  naviga- 
tion, and  our  home  industry,  in  reference  to  a  state  of 
things  in  Europe,  which  now  had  no  longer  an  existence. 
So  long  as  Europe  was  involved  in  war,  she  had  occasion 
for  our  commerce,  and  constituted  a  valuable  and  unfail- 
ing market  for  all  the  productions  we  could  send  abroad  ; 
and,  like  a  young  and  thoughtless  nation,  we  had  fashion- 
ed our  whole  policy  upon  the  supposition  that  things 
would  be  always  thus.  Our  foreign  resources  were  culti- 
vated with  unremitting  assiduity,  while  those  of  a  domes- 
tick  character  were  left  to  almost  utter  neglect  till  1816, 
and  then  protected  by  a  tariff,  which  barely  served  to  save 
them  from  entire  annihilation.  Of  course,  when  the  Eu- 
ropean wars  terminated,  the  staff  on  which  we  had  leaned 
was  broken.  Europe  was  now  in  a  situation  to  sustain 
herself  without  our  aid.  As  a  necessary  result,  our  ves- 
sels were  dismissed  from  her  employment,  and  our  produce 
excluded  from  her  markets.  Our  property,  both  on  the 
land  and  the  ocean,  suffered  a  diminution  in  value  of  fifty 
per  cent.,  and  languor  settled  like  a  spirit  of  pestilence 
upon  city  and  country.  These  consequences  resulted  from 
our  policy  as  naturally  as  any  effect  ever  follows  its  cause  ; 
and  Mr.  Clay  contended,  that  the  only  way  of  escaping 


HENRY  CLAY.  185 

them  was  to  change  our  policy,  to  establish  a  great  Ame- 
rican system,  whereby  the  country  should  be  poised  upon 
her  own  centre,  and  her  prosperity  established  on  a  found- 
ation as  immoveable  as  the  granite  pillars  of  her  mountains. 

We  are  of  opinion  that  a  more  earnest  and  able  debate 
never  took  place,  either  in  the  American  congress  or  any 
other  deliberative  assembly,  than  that  which  ensued  at 
this  time  upon  the  subject  of  the  tariff.  It  constituted  one 
of  those  great  epochs,  by  which  a  nation's  history  is 
marked.  Mr.  Clay  and  Daniel  Webster  were  the  leaders 
of  the  opposing  parties ;  and  their  friends  will  not  hesitate 
to  acknowledge,  that  neither  of  them  ever  encountered  a 
champion  more  worthy  of  his  prowess.  When  such 
minds  come  in  contact  in  the  prime  and  vigour  of  their 
powers ;  when,  hour  after  hour,  they  dash  against  each 
other,  like  seas  driven  by  adverse  winds,  and  recoil  back- 
ward but  to  renew  the  shock  with  added  violence,  there 
is  a  sublimity  in  the  scene,  greater  than  that  of  the  war- 
ring elements,  when  the  clouds  are  marshalling  themselves 
like  bloody  giants  in  the  sky,  and  the  great  waves  of  the 
ocean  are  rolled  up  before  the  storm-breath  of  the  Al- 
mighty. 

Mr.  Clay  and  Mr.  Webster,  though  perhaps  equal  in 
strength,  were  wholly  unlike  each  other  in  the  conforma- 
tion of  their  minds.  The  arguments  of  Mr.  Webster  were 
powerful  weapons,  which  went  toward  their  mark  with  a 
force  that  seemed  irresistible;  but  they  were  weapons, 
whose  temper  and  character  were  known,  and  hence  they 
could  be  guarded  against  with  the  more  certainty.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  contents  of  Mr.  Clay's  intellectual  ar- 
moury, if  not  more  massive,  were,  at  least,  more  diversified 
and  fatal.  At  one  moment,  he  could  strike  with  tremen- 
dous force  in  the  strife  of  hand  to  hand,  and  then,  per- 
chance, gall  his  enemy  at  a  distance  with  arrows  blazing 
16* 


186  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

with  the  hottest  flame  of  eloquence  and  passion,  and 
blinding  their  victim  by  the  fierce  intensity  of  their  bright- 
ness. A  gentleman,  who  was  a  spectator  of  the  encounter, 
and  who  has  had  the  kindness  to  give  us  some  account  of 
it,  describes  the  powers  of  the  rival  champions  by  a  stri- 
king similitude.  "  The  eloquence  of  Mr.  Webster,"  says 
he,  "  was  the  majestick  roar  of  a  strong  and  steady  blast 
pealing  through  the  forest ;  but  that  of  Mr.  Clay  was  the 
tone  of  a  god-like  instrument,  sometimes  visited  by  an  An- 
gel-touch, and  swept  anon  by  all  the  fury  of  the  raging  ele- 
ments." 

Mr.  Clay  rested  his  argument  in  favour  of  the  protection 
of  domestick  industry  upon  the  solid  foundation  of  experi- 
ence. He  appealed  to  the  history  of  other  countries,  and 
showed,  by  mathematical  computation,  that  the  riches  of 
every  people  were  exactly  proportionate  to  the  degree  in 
which  they  protected  their  home  fabricks.  Great  Britain 
guarded  the  industry  of  her  citizens  by  the  heaviest  pro- 
tecting duties ;  and  she  was  the  most  affluent  nation  on 
earth.  France  was  the  second  in  the  degree  of  pro- 
tection, and  second  too  in  the  order  of  wealth.  Spain  al- 
most wholly  neglected  her  industry,  and  was  consequently 
among  the  poorest  of  nations ;  while  the  United  States, 
from  a  still  more  culpable  disregard  of  the  protecting 
policy,  were  poorer  even  than  Spain.  The  effects  of  the 
restrictive  system,  in  the  creation  of  wealth,  as  exhibited  in 
Great  Britain,  are  indeed  remarkable.  Mr.  Cla}'  stated  the 
amount  of  her  wealth,  annually  produced,  to  be  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  millions  sterling,  far  the  greater  portion  of 
which  was  produced  by  her  manufacturers.  It  was  this  as- 
tonishing power  of  creating  wealth,  that  enabled  her  to  raise 
the  immense  subsidies  whereby  she  sustained  herself 
through  the  almost  interminable  convulsions  of  Europe; 
turned  back  the  flood  of  war,  which  the  mighty  spirit  of  the 


HENRY    CLAY.  187 

Corsican  was  rolling  over  the  eastern  continent ;  smote  the 
sceptre  from  his  convulsive  grasp  on  the  field  of  Waterloo ; 
and  finally  established  a  peace,  without  having  exhausted 
her  resources. 

It  cannot  but  be  a  source  oT  pride  to  the  supporters  of 
the  American  system,  to  observe  with  what  success  Mr. 
Clay  attacked  the  positions  of  its  enemies.  In  spite  of 
the  desperate  strength  with  which  some  of  them  were  de- 
fended, he  demolished  them,  one  by  one ;  and,  when  he 
had  gone  through  the  field,  the  work  of  destruction  was  at 
an  end.  There  remained  not  an  outwork  or  a  fortress,  but 
was  utterly  dismantled — and  we  can  imagine  the  conque- 
ror to  have  sat  amid  their  fallen  piles,  like  the  stern  old 
Roman  amid  the  ruins  of  Carthage. 

The  first  objection  urged  against  Mr.  Clay's  system, 
was,  that  it  would  operate  unequally ;  that  the  South, 
owing  to  the  character  of  its  population,  could  not  engage 
in  the  business  of  manufacturing,  and  consequently  ought 
not  to  pay  increased  duties  on  foreign  importations  for  the 
encouragement  of  this  species  of  industry.  To  this  Mr. 
C.  replied,  that  the  South  could  engage  in  manufacturing  j 
that  the  obstacles  to  it  were  rather  imaginary  than  real ; 
and  that,  to  some  branches  of  the  business,  the  slave  popu- 
lation was  peculiarly  adapted.  But  supposing  that  it  was 
otherwise :  still  the  South  had  no  right  to  claim  that  the 
policy  of  the  union  should  be  established  in  sole  reference 
to  the  condition  of  the  blacks — in  other  words,  that  the 
whole  country  should  become  the  slave  of  slaves.  Mr. 
Clay  well  remarked,  that,  under  the  old  system  of  policy,, 
there  existed  a  sort  of  tacit  compact  between  the  southern 
cotton-grower  and  the  English  manufacturer,  the  condi- 
tions of  which  on  the  one  side  were,  that  the  manufacturer 
should  continue  to  purchase  the  cotton  of  the  south,  and, 
on  the  other,  that  the  whole  of  the  United  States — the 


188  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

eastern,  western,  and  middle  portions,  as  well  as  the 
southern,  should  remain  open  and  unrestricted  in  the 
consumption  of  English  manufactures.  The  object  of 
the  tariff  was  not  to  sacrifice  the  south  to  the  other  sec- 
tions of  the  country,  but 'simply  to  prevent  all  the  rest 
of  the  country  from  being  sacrificed  to  the  south.  The 
south  complained,  that,  if  the  tariff  were  established,  the 
price  of  certain  objects  of  her  consumption  would  be  tem- 
porarily increased.  The  other  parts  of  the  union  com- 
plained,  that,  if  it  were  not  established,  they  should  be  un- 
able to  purchase  the  necessary  objects  of  consumption  at 
any  price.  At  most,  the  tariff  could  only  be  inconvenient 
to  the  south,  while  the  want  of  it  would  be  ruinous  to  the 
country.  Mr.  Clay  believed,  however,  that  the  adoption 
of  the  restrictive  policy  would  ultimately  be  beneficial  to 
the  people  of  the  southern  states,  whether  they  engaged 
in  manufacturing  or  not.  Under  the  old  system,  the  En- 
glish manufacturers  enjoyed  the  exclusive  privilege  of  sup- 
plying the  articles  of  southern  consumption,  and  conse- 
quently supplied  them  at  an  exorbitant  price.  Under  the 
operation  of  the  tariff,  manufactures  would  spring  up  in 
the  United  States  to  rival  those  of  England,  and  there 
could  be  little  doubt,  that,  in  consequence  of  the  competi- 
tion, the  south  would  be  able,  after  the  lapse  of  a  very  few- 
years,  to  purchase  the  objects  of  its  cousumption  at  a 
greatly  diminished  price.  This  position  admitted  of  a 
forcible  illustration.  At  the  close  of  the  late  war,  the 
American  establishments  for  cotton-bagging,  in  Kentucky, 
were  prostrated  by  the  influx  of  the  Scottish  manufacture. 
Of  course  the  Scotch  subsequently  monopolized  the  supply 
of  the  country.  What  was  the  effect  ?  They  immediately 
raised  the  price  of  bagging  to  a  sum  that  would  have  pro- 
tected the  American  manufacture  ten  years.  This  in- 
creased price  of  the  article  induced  the  American  establish 


HENRY   CLAY.  189 

raents  to  go  again  into  operation,  and  the  effect  was  to 
reduce  the  price  one  half. 

In  the  second  place  it  was  objected,  that  the  Tariff  would 
diminish  the  amount  of  our  exports;  that  Europe  would 
not  purchase  of  us  unless  we  purchased  of  her.  Mr.  C. 
replied,  that,  as  the  bill  before  congress  operated  only  on 
a  few  articles  of  foreign  industry,  Europe  might  still  buy 
of  us  whatever  she  wanted,  and  pay  us  in  articles  not 
effected  by  the  provisions  of  the  Tariff.  If  there  were  any 
falling-off  in  our  exports,  it  must  be  in  the  article  of  cotton 
to  Great  Britain ;  and,  even  in  this,  it  was  impossible,  that 
the  diminution  should  be  important.  Great  Britain  bought 
cotton  of  us  annually  to  the  amount  of  about  five  millions 
sterling1,  and  sold  it,  in  its  manufactured  forms,  for  more 
than  twenty-one  millions  and  a  half.  Of  the  manufac- 
tured fabrick,  the  United  States  received  only  to  the  amount 
of  a  million  and  a  half.  If  Great  Britain,  in  consequence- 
of  our  Tariff,  should  refuse  to  purchase  our  cotton,  she- 
would  lose  the  market  for  the  twenty  millions  sterling, 
which  she  was  selling  yearly  to  foreign  powers.  Such  a 
loss  she  would  not  willingly  incur.  The  diminution,  then, 
in  the  exportation  of  cotton  to  Great  Britain,  could  only 
be  in  the  proportion  of  one  and  a  half  to  twenty — a  dimi- 
nution, which  would  be  more  than  made  up  by  the  in- 
creased sale  of  the  article  in  our  own  country.  Besides: 
the  new  direction,  given  to  our  industry,  would  produce 
new  articles  of  exportation — articles,  which,  from  the 
labour  bestowed  on  their  manufacture,  would  be  far  more 
valuable  than  raw  materials — and  hence,  the  aggregate 
of  our  exports,  instead  of  diminishing  in  value,  would  ba 
greatly  increased. 

The  next  objection  to  the  Tariff  was,  that  it  would 
diminish  our  Navigation.  Mr.  Clay  said,  in  reply,  that, 
if  he  was  right  in  the  supposition,  that  the  protection  of 


190  BIOGRAPHY    OP 

our  industry  would  produce  new  objects  of  exportation, 
our  navigation  would  receive  additional  encouragement. 
Even  if  this  interest,  contrary  to  all  probability,  should 
experience  a  depression,  the  increase  of  the  coasting  trade 
would  be  more  than  a  compensation  for  the  injury.  The 
orator  contended,  moreover,  that,  in  settling  our  manufac- 
turing and  agricultural  policy,  the  interests  of  navigation^ 
though  certainly  worthy  of  attention,  should  be  regarded 
as  of  secondary  importance.  The  whole  business  of  na- 
vigation is  to  transport  the  productions  of  the  agricultural 
and  manufacturing  branches  of  industry;  and  therefore  it 
should  accommodate  itself  to  the  actual. condition  of  these 
branches,  instead  of  requiring  them  to  be  moulded  to  its 
own  purposes. 

Again:  the  opposers  of  the  domestick  policy  objected, 
that  its  adoption  would  force  capital  and  labour  into  new 
and  reluctant  employments — employments,  for  which  we 
were  unfitted  by  the  high  price  of  labour  in  this  country. 
Mr.  Clay  remarked,  in  answer,  that  no  man  would  enter 
upon  the  business  of  manufacturing  unless  at  his  own 
option.  It  was  notorious,  that  one  great  cause  of  the  dis- 
tress of  the  country,  was  the  almost  universal  want  of 
employment.  Agriculture,  commerce,  navigation,  and 
all  the  learned  professions,  were  overflowing  with  compe- 
titors. The  establishment  of  manufactures  would  open  a 
new  field  of  business,  and  those  who  thought  proper  would 
engage  in  it,  and  none  others.  As  to  our  being  unfitted 
for  manufacturing  by  the  high  price  of  labour,  the  sugges- 
tion was  absurd.  So  great  were  the  want  of  employment 
and  the  consequent  embarrassment  among  the  working 
classes,  that  instances  were  frequent,  in  which  men  laboured 
for  a  bare  subsistence.  Besides,  manual  labour  was  but 
a  trifling  consideration  in  the  manufacturing  arts.  Al- 
most every  thing  had  then  come  to  be  done  by  machinery. 


HENRY    CLAY.  191 

In  estimating  the  expense  of  English  fabricks,  the  item  of 
manual  labour  was  quite  too  small  for  computation.  The 
machine  power  of  Britain  was  equal  at  that  day  to  the 
manual  power  of  two  hundred  millions  of  able-bodied 
day-labourers ;  or  eleven  times  as  great  as  the  aggregate  of 
the  whole  natural  power  of  the  country.  In  this  ad- 
vanced state  of  the  arts,  the  circumstances  most  requisite 
for  success  in  manufacturing,  were  capital,  raw  materials, 
ingenuity  in  the  construction  of  machinery,  and  adroitness 
in  the  application  of  it.  Our  citizens  were  deficient  in  no 
one  of  these  things,  and  hence  there  could  be  no  doubt, 
that,  with  proper  protection,  their  success  would  be  com- 
plete. 

It  was  further  urged,  that,  wherever  there  was  a  con- 
currence of  favourable  circumstances,  manufactures  would 
spring  up  of  themselves,  and  flourish  without  protection. 
This  theory,  Mr.  C.  said,  was  refuted  by  fact.  The  sup- 
position, that  manufactures,  without  protection,  could 
maintain  themselves  in  a  competition  with  protected  ma- 
nufactures, was  refuted  by  the  experience  of  all  nations. 
There  was  never  one  instance,  in  which  they  thus  main- 
tained themselves.  The  causes  of  their  universal  failure 
might  be  obvious  or  they  might  not — but  the  fact  still 
remained.  It  would  be  as  preposterous  to  reject  the  fact 
on  account  of  our  ignorance  of  its  causes,  as  to  decline 
availing  ourselves  of  the  light  of  the  sun  because  we  may 
not  know  of  what  substance  it  is  composed. 

Mr.  Webster  argued,  that  the  protecting  policy  was 
condemned  by  the  most  enlightened  statesmen  of  Europe, 
and  that  we,  in  adopting  it,  should  only  be  decorating 
ourselves  with  the  cast-off  habiliments  of  other  nations. 
Mr.  Clay  challenged  any  and  all  of  his  opponents  to  cite 
a  solitary  case,  where  a  nation,  after  once  enjoying  the 
benefits  of  the  restrictive  system,  had  surrendered  them, 


192  BIOaRAPHY    OF 

He  represented  his  opponents  as  rejecting  the  evidence  of 
the  settled  and  permanent  policy  of  Europe,  and  asking 
Congress  to  take  lessons  from  a  few  speculative  writers, 
whose  visionary  theories  had  been  nowhere  adopted,  or, 
if  adopted,  had  brought  nothing  but  poverty  in  their  train. 
Great  Britain  had  not  relaxed  from  the  most  rigourous 
restrictions.  She  not  only  protected  the  whole  of  her  vast 
dominions  against  the  rest  of  the  world,  but  protected  the 
parent  country  against  the  colonies — and  even  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  parent  country  against  each  other.  Sup- 
posing, however,  that  Great  Britain  should  abolish  all 
restrictions  upon  trade — it  would  by  no  means  follow, 
that  we  could  safely  imitate  the  example.  Her  manufac 
tures  had  been  brought  to  maturity — but  ours  were  in  their 
infancy.  If  a  universal  system  of  free  trade  were  to  be 
established,  Great  Britain  might,  by  reason  of  the  perfec- 
tion of  her  arts,  increase  in  riches  and  prosperity,  while,  at 
the  same  time,  every.  American  manufacturer  would  inevi- 
tably become  a  bankrupt.  The  lion  may  need  no  pro- 
tection— but  the  life  of  the  larnb  depends  upon  it. 

It  was,  at  length,  suggested  by  Mr.  P.  P.  B  arbour,  of 
Virginia,  toward  the  close  of  the  discussion,  that  the  pro- 
tection of  domestic  industry  was  contrary  to  the  spirit  of 
our  constitution.  It  is  indeed  a  curious  fact,  that  this 
notion  of  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  Tariff — a  notion 
which,  within  the  last  three  or  four  years,  has  been  very 
perseveringly  and  boisterously  proclaimed — was  never 
thought  of  during  the  long  and  able  discussions  of  1815 
and  1820,  and  merely  alluded  to  in  1824  as  an  incidental 
consideration,  in  the  soundness  of  which  the  most  violent 
enemies  of  protection  had  obviously  no  sort  of  confidence.. 
Mr.  Clay,  in  the  slight  notice  which  he  thought  fit  to 
bestow  upon  this  topic,  deduced  the  right  of  taxing  im- 
ported articles  from  that  clause  of  the  constitution,  which 


HENRY  CLAY.  193 

authorizes  congress  to  regula'te  commerce  with  foreign 
nations.  Under  the  authority  of  this  clause,  we  had 
already  passed  embargoes,  and  laws  of  total  non-inter- 
course, effecting  an  entire  cessation  of  commerce  with  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth. 

All  these  objections,  and  innumerable  others,  were  swept 
away  by  Mr.  Clay's  varied  and  matchless  eloquence — 
sometimes  whispering  to  the  heart  with  a  tone  like  that 
of  twilight  musick,  and  then  calling  to  the  passions  with 
the  mingled  voice  of  earthquake  and  whirlwind.  Nor 
was  he  less  successful  in  establishing  his  own  arguments 
than  in  annihilating  those  of  his  opponents.  Day  by  day 
he  multiplied  and  strengthened  them.  Day  by  day  he 
heaved  them  upon  each  other,  until  the  growing  mass — 
rock-ribbed  and  mighty — -Tose  high  into  the  air,  and  his 
enemies  could  no  more  overturn  it  than  they  could  shake 
down  the  eternal  Alps.  In  the  one  attempt,  as  in  the 
other,  there  was  danger  of  the  descending  avalanche. 

When,  at  the  close  of  the  discussion,  the  subject  of  the 
•  American  system  was  referred  to  the  votes  of  congress. 
Mr.  Clay's  victory  was  proclaimed  to  the  world.  His 
majority  was  small,  but  this  only  proved  the  strength  and 
resolution  of  his  antagonists. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Baldwin,  now  an  associate  justice  of  the 
supreme  court,  had,  as  chairman  of  the  committee  of  ma- 
nufactures, charge  of  the  tariff  in  the  session  of  1819—20. 
Speaking,  on  his  return  home,  to  his  constituents  of  Pitts- 
burgh, of  the  services  of  Mr.  Clay,  he  respresented  him  as 
having  "  exhibited  the  varied  skill  and  talents  of  the  com- 
mander in  chief,  the  corporal,  and  one  of  the  rank  and 
file." 

Six  years  have  already  elapsed,  and  we  have  now  an 
opportunity  to  scan  the  predictions  of  Mr.  Clay  in  regard 
to  the  system,  of  which  he  was  the  author  and  builder. 
17 


194  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

There  is  not  one  of  them  but  has  been  verified.  The  south 
is  supplied  with  the  articles  of  its  consumption  at  reduced 
prices ;  the  amount  of  our  exports,  of  our  navigation,  and 
of  our  revenue,  has  been  augmented ;  our  manufactures 
have  flourished  in  spite  of  the  price  of  labour ;  and  the 
policy  of  protection,  instead  of  being  cast  aside  in  other 
countries,  is  still  cherished  by  every  nation,  that  has  ever 
had  experience  of  its  advantages.  Mr.  Clay's  prophecies 
"could  not  have  been  more  true,  if  his  lips  had  been  touched 
'with  a  coal  from  the  altar  of  inspiration. 

It  is  indeed  a  pleasure  to  contrast  the  present  condition 
of  the  United  States  with  what  it  was  in  1824,  when  everj 
man  seemed  gazing  upon  ruin,  face  to  face.  A  wonder- 
ful work  has  been  wrought  among  us.  Our  roads,  our 
canals,  our  rivers,  and  our  coasts,  are  thronged  with  the 
produce  of  our  fields;  our  markets  are  rich  and  unfailing  ; 
the  marks  of  cheerful  and  successful  industry  are  visible 
in  every  countenance :  the  precious  metals  are  flowing 
upon  us  abundantly ;  prosperous  villages  are  every  where 
.springing  up  like  the  creations  of  a  wizard  tale ;  the  tide 
of  emigration  has  been  stayed;  and  every  stream,  that 
gushes  from  our  forest-shades,  is  turning  its  wheel  and  its 
spindle,  instead  of  wandering  down  to  the  ocean  for  no 
better  purpose  than  to  picture  rock,  and  tree,  and  sky, 
upon  its  surface.  Even  if  the  establishment  of  the  policy 
of  protection  were  the  only  distinguished  act  of  Mr.  Clay's 
life,  the  memorial  of  his  days  would  still  be  a  nation's 
happiness. 

No  friend  of  his  country  can  look  dispassionately  upon 
the  operation  of  the  American  system,  and  wish  to  destroy 
it.  Even  Mr.  Webster,  earnestly  as  he  once  opposed  it, 
has  witnessed  its  effects  and  become  its  supporter.  We 
believe  it  will  stand,  in  defiance  of  time  and  storm — in  de- 
fiance, too,  of  those  gigantick  and  desperate  spirits,  who 
.  are  tugging  so  madly  at  its  pillars. 


HENRY   CLAY.  195 


SECTION   SIXTH. 

No  question  that  has  ever  arisen  in  the  councils  of  the 
general  government  since  the  establishment  of  the  consti- 
tution, has  been  fraught  with  half  so  much  danger  to 
the  harmony  and  existence  of  the  union,  as  that  which 
sprung  up  in  the  session  of  Congress  of  1818 — 19,  on  the 
proposal  to  admit  the  territory  of  Missouri  as  one  of  the 
members  of  the  confederacy.  On  that  occasion,  while  the 
bill  providing  for  the  admission  of  Missouri,  was  before  the 
house  of  representatives,  the  following  condition,  among 
others,  was  proposed: 

"  All  children  of  slaves,  born  within  the  said  state  after 
the  admission  thereof  into  the  union,  shall  be  free,  but  may 
be  held  to  service  until  the  age  of  twenty -five  years ;  and 
the  further  introduction  of  slavery  or  involuntary  servi- 
tude is  prohibited,  except  for  the  punishment  of  crimes, 
whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted." 

It  will  be  immediately  perceived,  that  this  condition 
touched  the  most  delicate  and  inflammatory  subject  that 
can  be  agitated  in  these  United  States — one  which  pre- 
sented the  greatest  difficulty  in  the  formation  of  the  pre- 
sent constitution  of  government,  and  which,  there  is  too 
much  reason  to  apprehend,  will  continue  to  convulse  the 
country  more  or  less,  whilst  the  union  or  slavery  remains. 
When  this  condition  was  first  proposed  in  Congress,  it 
had  not  been  previously  discussed  and  considered  by  the 
mass  of  the  people,  who  were,  therefore,  perfectly  tranquil 
and  unagitated.  Their  feelings,  sentiments,  and  prejudi- 
ces, on  the  subject  of  the  slavery  of  the  African  part  of 


196  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

our  population,  were,  however,  sufficiently  well  known  to 
their  respective  representatives,  not  to  be  mistaken. 

From  the  first  introduction  of  this  unhappy  topic  into 
the  house  of  representatives,  Mr.  Clay,  who,  at  one  rapid 
glance,  foresaw  all  its  fearful  consequences,  took  a  decided 
and  active  part  against  the  proposed  condition.  No  man 
regretted  more  than  himself,  the  existence  of  slavery,  disfi- 
guring the  fair  face  of  our  country.  No  man  was  more 
ready  than  he  to  embrace  every  practicable  scheme  for 
eradicating  or  mitigating  the  evil.  Of  this  disposition,  he 
had,  from  his  boyhood,  given  frequent  and ;  abundant  evi- 
dence ;  but  he  believed  that  the  constitution  had  withheld 
from  congress  all  power  over  the  subject.  He  believed 
that  any  remedy  which  might  be  devised,  could  only  be 
adopted  and  applied  by  each  of  the  several  states  within 
which  the  institution  of  slavery  was  tolerated.  He  thought 
that  every  new  state  admitted  into  the  union,  became,  at  the 
moment  of  its  admission,  invested  with  all  the  political 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  original  states;  and,  conse- 
quently, possessed  the  power  of  determining  for  itself, 
whether  it  would  tolerate  slavery,  and  on  what  condi- 
tions. He  even  declared,  that  if  he  were  a  citizen  of  Mis- 
souri, he  would  support  the  objects  of  the  proposed  condi- 
tion— that  is,  he  would  oppose  the  further  introduction  of 
slaves  into  the  state,  and  favour  the  gradual  emancipation 
of  those  who  were  already  there.  Still,  that  was  a  mat- 
ter for  the  people  of  Missouri  alone  to  consider  and  deter- 
mine. We  had  no  right  to  force  our  opinions  upon  her. 
She  was  not  only  unrepresented  in  congress,  but  there  was 
ki  that  body  a  majority  of  members,  who,  coming  from 
non-slave-holding  states,  could  not  partake  of  her  feelings, 
her  sympathies,  and  her  interests. 

The  condition  in  question  was  debated  at  great  length, 
and  with  much  -  warmth  and  zeal,  in  the  house  of  repre- 


HENRY    CLAY.  197 

entatives,  and  carried  by  a  majority,  consisting,  with  few 
•xceptions,  of  all  the  members  from  the  non-slave-holding 
states.  Every  member  from  the  other  states  voted  against 
it.  In  the  senate  the  condition  was  stricken  out,  and  the 
bill,  with  this  amendment,  returned  to  the  house  of  re- 
presentatives. Each  house  adhered  to  its  opinion.  The 
bill  for  the  admission  of  Missouri  was  consequently  de- 
feated, and  the  session  of  congress  of  1818 — 19,  termina- 
ted without  any  settlement  of  the  question. 

This  was  an  unfortunate  result.  The  people  quickly 
caught  from  their  respective  representatives  the  contagion 
of  excitement ;  the  press,  in  the  vacation  of  congress, 
teemed  with  the  most  violent  pamphlets  and  paragraphs 
on  the  subject  of  slavery;  and  all  possible  means  of  exci- 
ting and  arraying  the  elements  of  a  political  storm,  were 
put  into  active  operation.  The  union  was  fearfully  agita- 
ted throughout  all  its  parts;  and,  in  this  state  of  general 
tumult,  the  congressional  session  of  1819 — 20  commenced. 

The  renewed  discussion  in  congress  of  the  restriction  on 
Missouri,  far  from  allaying  the  storm  throughout  the  coun- 
try, served  only  to  increase  its  rage  and  violence.  Reso- 
lutions in  favour  of  the  restriction  and  against  it,  were 
adopted  by  New- York,  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
Kentucky,  New-Jersey,  and  other  states ;  and  petitions  and 
remonstrances  from  publick  meetings  and  societies  were 
poured  in  a  flood  upon  the  tables  of  both  houses  of  con- 
gress. These  demonstrations  of  the  intensity  of  popular 
feeling,  tended  to  protract  the  debate,  and  to  give  it  not 
only  animation  but  acrimony.  Many  speeches  were  pro- 
nounced. Mr.  Clay  spoke,  at  one  time,  nearly  four  hours 
against  the  restriction;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  his 
speech,  which  created  a  strong  sensation,  and  was  univer- 
sally acknowledged,  by  those  who  heard  it,  to  be  one  of 
17* 


198  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

the  most  powerful,  profound,  and  eloquent  efforts  of  his 
whole  life,  has  never  been  published. 

On  the  side  of  the  restrictionists,  the  miseries  of  slavery 
were  depicted  in  strong  and  vivid  colours ;  its  rapid  pro- 
gress in  some  of  the  states  afflicted  with  its  evils,  was 
dwelt  on  as  a  source  of  alarm ;  and  the  necessity  of  cur- 
tailing its  range  was  vehemently  urged.  The  advanta- 
ges accruing  to  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois, 
from  the  adoption  of  the  interdict  to  the  introduction  of 
slavery  north-west  of  the  Ohio,  by  the  ordinance  of  1787, 
were  insisted  on  at  great  length,  and  with  signal  ability. 
In  respect  to  the  power  of  Congress  to  admit  new  states 
into  the  union,  the  restrictionists  contended  that  it  was 
plenary,  and  drew  after  it  a  right  to  decide  whether  the 
admission  should  be  absolute  or  on  condition,  and  on  what 
condition ;  and  that,  accordingly,  on  the  admission  of  all 
the  new  states,  some  conditions  had  been  annexed. 

The  advocates  for  the  unconditional  admission  of  Mis- 
souri into  the  union,  generally  admitted  that  slavery  was 
a  great  evil.  They  contended,  however,  that  it  was  an 
evil  which  those  who  felt  it  were  most  competent  to  reme- 
dy ;  that  the  comfort  of  the  slaves,  as  well  as  the  safety  of 
the  whites,  would  be  best  promoted  by  the  diffusion  of  the 
former,  rather  than  by  their  concentration ;  that  the  dan- 
gers from  the  increase  of  the  slave  population,  were  dis- 
tant or  imaginary;  and  that  the  non-slave-holding  states, 
being  themselves  now  free  to  allow  or  prevent  the  intro- 
duction of  slaves,  ought  to  leave  every  other  state  in  pos- 
session of  the  like  freedom. 

It  was  behind  the  constitution,  however,  that  the  oppo- 
nents of  restriction  principally  entrenched  themselves. 
They  earnestly  contended  that  the  constitution  bestowed 
on  congress  no  power  whatever  over  slaves,  save  that 
which  had  been  already  exercised,  of  prohibiting  their  im- 


HENRY    CLAY. 


199 


portation  after  the  year  1808;  that  the  slave  states  never 
would  have  consented  to  enter  into  the  union,  if  the  power 
now  claimed  for  congress  had  been  conferred  by  the  con- 
stitution j  that  the  day  when  it  should  be  usurped,  would 
be  the  last  of  the  union ;  that  the  power  to  admit  new 
states,  implied  no  power  to  impose  restrictions,  but  was  a 
naked  power  to  admit  or  not  to  admit ;  that  a  new  state, 
when  admitted,  stood  on  a  perfect  political  equality  with 
all  the  old  states,  and  possessed  the  same  powers  and  pri- 
vileges, among  which  was  that  of  deciding  for  itself  the 
question  of  tolerating  slavery;  that  the  alleged  condi- 
tions on  the  admission  of  other  new  states,  were  not  in 
fact  conditions  presented  by  a  paramount  sovereign,  but 
terms  of  compact  offered  to  the  new  states,  and  obligatory 
upon  them  in  value  simply  of  their  own  voluntary  con- 
sent ;  and  that  the  ordinance  of  1787,  having  been  enact- 
ed for  the  government  of  territories  prior  to  their  admission 
as  states  into  the  union,  could  not  now  be  construed  as 
controlling  the  right  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  or  Illinois,  to  admit 
slaves,  if  either  chose  to  authorize  their  introduction. 

After  a  discussion  more  arduous  and  angry  than  that  of 
the  preceding  session,  the  question  was  again  put  to  vote. 
In  the  senate  there  was  a  majority  against  the  restric- 
tion, and  in  the  house  a  majority  for  it.  The  District  of 
Maine  having  an  application  before  congress  at  the  same 
period,  to  be  admitted  as  a  state  into  the  union,  the  senate 
united  the  bills  for  the  two  new  states ;  but  the  house  re- 
jected that  combination.  Finally,  through  the  agencj'  of 
committees  of  conference  appointed  in  the  two  houses, 
the  question  was  settled  by  what  was  termed  a  compro- 
mise. According  to  this  compromise,  Missouri  was  re- 
ceived into  the  union  without  restriction,  and,  by  the  eighth 
section  of  the  act  admitting  her,  it  is  provided,  "that  in 
all  that  territory  ceded  by  France  to  the  United  States, 


200  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

nnder  the  name  of  Louisiana,  which  lies  north  of  thirty- 
six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes  north  latitude,  not  in- 
cluded within  the  limits  of  the  state  contemplated  by  this 
act,  slavery  and  involuntary  servitude,  otherwise  than  in 
the  punishment  of  crimes,  whereof  the  parties  shall  have.- 
been  duly  convicted,  shall  be  and  is  hereby  for  ever  prohi- 
bited :  Provided  always,  that  any  person  escaping  into  the 
same  from  whom  labour  or  service  is  lawfully  claimed  in 
any  state  or  territory  of  the  United  States,  such  fugitive 
may  be  lawfully  reclaimed  and  convej'ed  to  the  person 
claiming  his  or  her  labour  or  service  as  aforesaid." 

Thus  terminated  for  a  time  the  discussion  of  a  question 
so  portentous  to  the  durability  of  the  union.  A  contem- 
porary periodical  of  high  respectability  remarks :  "  This 
distracting  question,  as  it  was  emphatically  called  by  a 
member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  which 
has  so  long  excited  the  hopes  and  fears  of  every  patriot  in 
the  union,  has  at  last  been  settled.  Very  few,  perhaps,  are 
entirely  pleased  with  the  manner  of  its  adjustment;  but 
most  persons  are  gratified  that  it  has  been  adjusted  amica- 
bly— for  certainly  it  was  a  matter  of  more  serious  impor- 
tance than  any  other  ever  before  submitted  to  the  conside- 
ration of  congress  since  the  formation  of  the  constitution, 
presenting  a  conflict  of  interests  as  to  real  or  honestly 
presumed  rights,  and  affecting  us  all  geographically." 

The  act  of  congress,  however,  did  not  absolutely  admit 
Missouri  into  the  union.  It  only  authorized  the  people  of 
the  territory  to  form  a  constitution  and  state  government, 
and  required  that  these  should  be  republican,  and  not  re- 
pugnant to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.  It  also 
required  "  a  true  and  attested  copy  of  such  constitution  or 
frame  of  state  government  as  might  be  formed  or  provided, 
to  be  transmitted  to  congress."  After  these  requisitions 
should  be  complied  with,  a  final  resolution  of  congress, 


HENRY  CLAY.  201 

according  to  the  practice  in  analogous  cases,  would  be 
necessary  to  admit  the  state  as  a  member  of  the  confede- 
racy. 

In  June,  1820,  the  people  of  the  territory  of  Missouri 
proceeded  to  ordain  and  establish  a  constitution  of  govern- 
ment for  the  contemplated  state.  Among  other  provisions, 
it  was  ordained  in  the  twenty-sixth  section  of  the  third 
article,  that  it  should  be  the  duty  of  the  general  assembly, 
"as  soon  as  might  be,  to  pass  such  laws  as  were  necessary 
to  prevent  free  negroes  and  mulattoes  from  coming  to  and, 
settling  in  the  state  under  any  pretext  whatever"  Under 
this  constitution,  a. state  government  was  organized,  and 
went  into  operation.  A  governor,  and  other  executive 
officers,  and  members  of  the  general  assembly,  were  ap- 
pointed, in  conformity  with  the  constitution  ;  and  the  first 
meeting  of  the  legislature  was  held  at  St.  Louis,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1820.  The  state  of  Missouri  also  appointed  elec- 
tors of  president  and  vice-president,  who  formed  a  college 
which  voted  for  those  officers,  and  their  votes  were  trans- 
mitted to  the  seat  of  government  in  the  usual  manner. 

Shortly  after  the  promulgation  of  the  constitution  of 
Missouri,  the  public  journalists  commenced  their  animad- 
versions upon  the  clause  for  the  exclusion  of  free  negroes 
and  mulattoes,  and  an  objection  was  founded  upon  it 
against  the  final  recognition  of  the  state  as  a  member  of 
the  confederacy.  With  the  quickness  of  thought,  parties 
were  arrayed  on  both  sides  of  the  question ;  and  it  was 
evident,  that  the  co-mpromise  of  the  previous  session  of 
congress,  had  not  extinguished,  but  only  smothered,  the 
embers  of  strife.  The  flame  was  now  rekindled,  and 
spread  with  terrible  rapidity ;  and  even  before  the  opening 
of  the  session  of  congress,  the  whole  country  was  again  in 
commotion. 

During  the  fall  of  1820,  Mr.  Clay,  in  consequence  of 


202  BIOGRAPHY    OP 

heavy  losses,  which  he  had  sustained  as  an  indorser  for  & 
friend,  resolved  to  retire  from  congress,  and  in  the  practice 
of  law,  devote  himself  to  the  reparation  of  his  private  af- 
fairs. He  therefore  resigned  his  office  as  speaker  of  the 
house,  but  retained  the  privileges  of  a  member — determin- 
ing to  take  his  seat  at  as  early  a  period  of  the  session  as 
was  consistent  with  his  professional  avocations,  and  thus 
dose  his  engagement  to  his  constituents. 

Shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  session,  the  constitution 
of  Missouri  was  laid  before  congress  for  consideration, 
and  referred  to  a  committee.  The  senate  readily  passed 
a  resolution  for  the  admission  of  the  state  into  the 
union ;  but  a  very  different  scene  was  to  be  witnessed  in 
the  house  of  representatives.  The  committee  of  the 
house,  like  that  of  the  senate,  reported  in  favour  of  the 
admission  of  the  state  unconditionally  ;  but  its  report  was 
rejected.  The  question,  which  divided  the  two  houses, 
and  agitated  the  publick,  was  of  very  little  consequence 
in  itself,  and  derived  all  its  importance  from  its  connexion 
with  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  the  debates  of  the  two 
previous  congressional  sessions.  By  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States,  it  is  ordained,  that  "  the  citizens  of  each 
state  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of 
citizens  in  the  several  states."  Those  who  opposed  the 
admission  of  Missouri,  contended  that  free  negroes  and 
mulattoes  were  citizens  of  the  state  of  their  residence ; 
that  as  such,  they  had  a  right,  under  the  constitution,  to 
remove  to  Missouri,  or  any  other  state  of  the  union,  and 
there  enjoy  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  other  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  emigrating  to  the  same  place ; 
and  therefore  that  the  clause  in  the  constitution  of  Mis- 
souri, above  adverted  to,  was  repugnant  to  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States,  and  she  ought  not  to  be  received  in- 
to the  union.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  maintained  that 


HENRY    CLAY.  203 

the  African  race,  whether  bond  or  free,  were  not  parties  to 
our  political  institutions ;  that  therefore  free  negroes  and 
mulattoes  were  not  citizens,  within  the  meaning  of  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States ;  and  that  even  if  the 
constitution  of  Missouri  were  repugnant  to  that  of  the 
United  States,  the  latter  was  paramount,  and  would  over- 
rule the  conflicting  provision  of  the  former,  without  the 
interference  of  congress. 

Such  was  the  question  which  now  threatened  an  imme- 
diate and  fatal  rupture  of  the  union.  Mr.  Clay  being  ab» 
sent  from  congress,  the  care  of  supporting  and  carrying 
through  the  house  of  representatives  the  proposition  for 
admitting  the  new  state,  was  confided  to  the  lamented 
Lowndes.  It  could  not  have  been  entrusted  to  a  man 
more  amiable,  estimable,  and  enlightened.  No  member, 
at  that  time,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Clay,  possessed 
such  weight  of  character,  or  so  much  influence  in  the 
house.  All  his  great  powers  of  persuasion  were  now  un- 
availingly  exerted.  A  stern  and  inflexible  majority  re- 
pelled every  proposition,  in  every  form,  which  aimed  at 
the  reception  of  the  offending  state.  Scarcely  a  day  elap- 
sed without  bringing  up  the  question  in  some  shape  or 
other.  An  entry  in  the  journal,  the  presentation  of  a 
petition,  an  appropriation  of  money,  the  enumeration  of 
the  presidential  votes,  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  of  the 
union  within  the  limits  of  Missouri,  or  some  other  matter, 
rendered  it  necessary  from  day  to  day,  to  consider  whether 
Missouri  remained  a  territory,  or  had  become  a  state,  and 
was  sure  to  throw  the  house  into  the  most  uncontrollable 
excitement.  The  two  parties— substantially  the  same  aa 
had  existed  at  the  previous  session  when  the  compromise 
was  effected — became  at  length  so  fierce  in  their  exaspe- 
ration against  each  other,  that  all  business  was  at  a  stand, 
and  the  wheels  of  government  were  stopped.  In  all  ports 


204  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

of  the  country  the  people  did  nothing  but  sound  the  onset  to 
their  respective  champions  in  Congress.  Popular  meetings, 
legislative  resolves,  and  other  demonstrations  of  feeling  and 
passion  were  resorted  to — crimination  and  recrimination 
followed — and  separation,  disunion,  and  civil  war,  with  all 
its  infinite  of  horrors,  were  the  common  topics  of  every  vil- 
lage and  hamlet.  Had  a  few  more  materials  of  excite- 
ment been  kindled,  the  work  of  destruction  would  have 
been  instant  and  complete.  The  mysterious  sounds  that 
precede  the  volcano's  birth,  were  heard  in  every  breeze, 
and  if  the  flood  of  fire  had  been  convulsed  and  upheaved 
by  the  slightest  added  violence,  its  desolate  pathway  would 
have  been  visible  over  the  fairest  portion  of  the  earth. 

In  this  state  of  things,  the  eyes  of  all  congress  were 
turned  towards  Mr.  Clay,  as  the  only  man  who  could,  by 
any  possibility,  avert  the  calamities  which  seemed  hanging 
over  the  republick.  On  the  16th  of  January,  1821,  when 
more  than  half  the  session  was  exhausted,  he  arrived  at 
Washington.  He  found  the  house  of  representatives  in 
a  situation  that  scarce  admits  of  a  description.  All  le- 
gislation was  at  an  end,  and  the  members  of  the  two  par- 
ties were  scowling  darkly  upon  each  other,  muttering  an- 
grily and  ominously,  and  resembling  two  hostile  armiea 
just  before  a  general  engagement,  with  their  arms  in  their 
hands,  and  waiting  but  for  the  word  to  rush  to  battle.  In- 
stantly he  was  addressed  by  the  more  considerate  members 
of  both  parties,  and  urged  to  use  his  most  earnest  exer- 
tions to  calm  the  strife  that  agitated  congress  and  the  na- 
tion. He  needed  no  such  incentive ;  for  he  saw  that  the 
state  must  be  speedily  saved,  or  her  glory  and  her  strength 
would  depart  for  ever. 

With  a  sagacity  peculiarly  his  own,  Mr.  Clay  soon  dis- 
covered, that  although  there  was  a  decided  majority  which 
opposed  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  union  wheu- 


HENRY   CLAY.  205 

ever  the  question  was  put  to  vote,  still  a  secret  wish  per- 
vaded that  majority,  for  the  peaceable  adjustment  of  the 
controversy.  This  was  a  most  favourable  circumstance, 
since  it  secured  the  success  of  any  preliminary  or  collate- 
ral motion,  which  he  might  offer  with  the  view  of  an  ul- 
timate accommodation.  After  having  "delivered  his  sen- 
timents at  large  on  the  state  of  the  question,"  and  in  those 
deep  and  solemn  tones  which  had  before  sounded  through 
the  house  in  the  hour  of  his  country's  need,  made  "  an 
earnest  appeal  to  members  of  both  belligerent  parties,  to 
bring  to  the  discussion,  minds  prepared  to  harmonize," 
he  submitted,  as  a  last  effort,  on  the  second  day  of 
February,  a  motion  to  refer  the  Missouri  question  to  a  com. 
mittee  of  thirteen — a  number  suggested  by  that  of  the 
original  states  of  the  union.  The  motion  was  agreed  to,  and 
a  committee  was  so  constituted  of  the  two  parties,  that  if 
all  those  members  of  it  who  had  before  opposed  the  admis- 
sion of  Missouri,  could  be  reconciled  to  any  plan  of  ad- 
justment,  that  plan  would  be  carried  in  the  house. 

On  the  10th  of  February,  Mr.  Clay,  as  chairman  of  the 
committee,  made  a  written  report  to  the  House,  accompa- 
nied by  a  resolution  for  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the 
union,  upon  the  following  fundamental  condition  : 

"  It  is  provided,  that  the  said  state  shall  never  pass  any 
law  preventing  any  description  of  persons  from  c'orning 
to  or  settling  in  the  said  state,  who  now  are  or  may  here- 
after become  citizens  of  any  of  the  states  of  this  union, 
and  also  that  the  legislature  of  the  said  state,  by  a  pub- 
lick  act,  shall  declare  the  assent  of  the  state  to  this  provi- 
sion, and  shall  transmit  to  the  president  of  the  United 
States,  on  or  before  the  fourth  Monday  in  November  next, 
an  authentickcopy  of  the  said  act,  upon  the  receipt  where- 
of the  president,  by  proclamation,  shall  announce  the  fact ; 
whereupon,  and  without  any  further  proceedings  on  the 
18 


206  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

part  of  congress,  the  admission  of  the  said  state  into  the 
union  shall  he  considered  as  complete :  and  it  is  provided 
further,  that  nothing  herein  contained,  shall  be  construed 
to  take  from  the  state  of  Missouri,  when  admitted  into  the 
union,  the  exercise  of  any  right  or  power  which  can  now 
be  constitutionally  exercised  by  any  of  the  original  states." 
It  is  obvious  that  this  proposal  did  not  involve  a  sacri- 
fice of  any  of  the  principles  for  which  Mr.  Clay,  and  all 
those  who  were  in  favour  of  the  unqualified  admission  of 
the  state,  had  contended.  It  did  not  decide  whether  free 
negroes  and  mulattoes  were  or  were  not  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  but  left  that  question  to  the  proper  tribunals. 
It  stripped  Missouri  of  no  power  which  appertained  to  the 
original  states.  It  required,  indeed,  a  solemn  act  of  the 
legislature  of  the  state,  but  that  act  was  to  effect  no  other 
object,  than  what  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
operating  on  the  case,  would  have  accomplished.  On  the 
other  hand,  those  who  had  opposed  the  admission  of  the 
state,  ought  to  have  been  content  with  the  proposal. 
Their  objection,  as  they  had  alleged,  was  founded  on  the 
repugnance  of  a  clause  of  the  Missouri  constitution  to  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  argument  had 
been  pressed  upon  them  in  vain,  that  assuming  the  exist- 
ence of  the  repugnance,  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  must  control.  On  this  point  they  stood  committed 
by  repeated  votes.  Mr.  Clay  clearly  saw,  that  it  was  use- 
less to  urge  them  to  retrace  their  steps,  however  untenable 
their  ground.  He  saw  the  necessity  of  affording  them  some 
opportunity  for  a  decent  retreat ;  and  this  was  done  by  the 
requirement  of  the  solemn  act  from  the  legislature  of  Mis- 
souri. Upon  their  own  principles,  if  the  exceptionable 
clause  in  the  constitution  of  the  state  were  the  real  objec- 
tion to  her  admission,  they  were  bound  to  be  satisfied  with, 
that  act 


HENRY   CLAY.  207 

The  report  was  taken  up  in  the  house  on  the  1 2th  of 
February.  Mr.  Clay  gave  a  detailed  account  of  the  pro- 
ceedings in  the  committee ;  of  the  difficulties  which  inter- 
posed; and  of  the  considerations  which  led  to  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  resolution.  He  concluded  his  expla- 
nations and  arguments  by  earnestly  and  passionately  in- 
voking the  spirit  of  harmony  and  kindred  feeling  to  pre- 
side over  the  deliberations  of  the  house.  A  sharp  and  ob- 
stinate encounter  ensued.  In  the  committee  of  the  whole 
on  the  state  of  the  union,  the  report  of  the  committee  of 
thirteen  was  negatived  by  a  small  majority ;  but  this  de- 
cision was  afterwards  overruled  in  the  house.  On  the 
question^  however,  of  the  third  reading  of  the  resolution,  it 
was  rejected  by  a  majority  of  83  to  80,  in  consequence  of 
the  defection  of  Mr.  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  who,  with  two 
or  three  other  southern  members,  voted  with  the  party 
that  had  been  opposed  to  the  admission  of  the  new  state. 
The  next  day,  a  reconsideration  was  moved  and  carried 
by  a  large  majority;  and  thus  the  question  of  the  third 
reading  of  the  resolution  was  again  brought  before  the 
House.  Another  protracted  and  bitter  debate  followed, 
and  was  concluded  by  a  speech  from  Mr.  Clay,  who  is 
represented  by  the  contemporary  journals,  as  having  "rea- 
soned, remonstrated,  and  entreated,  that  the  House  would 
settle  the  question."  Every  other  speaker  that  rose,  ap- 
peared under  the  combined  influences  of  personal,  section- 
al, and  political  resentments,  and  addressed  the  house 
with  no  other  object  than  that  of  provoking  and  defying 
the  opposite  party  to  the  worst  excesses.  Mr.  Clay  alone 
stood  above  the  violence  and  the  rage  of  conflict.  No 
provocation  could  stir  him  to  wrath.  Every  darker  pas- 
sion seemed  to  have  died  within  him,  and  he  looked  down 
upon  the  maddening  and  terrifick  scene  with  that  calm  and 
sublime  regret,  and  gave  utterance  to  his  thoughts  in  that 


208  BIOGRAPHY    OP 

high,  majestick,  and  pathetick  eloquence,  which  seemed  al- 
most to  designate  him  as  a  superior  being  commissioned 
by  Heaven  to  warn  our  country  against  the  sin  of  anar- 
chy and  blood.  So  resistless  was  his  appeal,  that  many  a 
fierce  and  lowering  countenance  was  wet — but  all  would 
not  do.  A  small  majority  again  decided  against  him,  and 
his  resolution  was  thus  finally  rejected. 

The  next  day,  the  ceremony  of  counting  the  votes  for 
president  and  vice-president  was  performed  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  members  of  both  houses  of  congress,  in  the 
hall  of  the  house  of  representatives.  A  scene  of  unpre- 
cedented tumult  and  confusion  arose  on  the  question, 
whether  the  vote  of  Missouri  should  be  enumerated,  and 
the  disturbance  could  be  allayed  only  by  the  adjournment 
of  the  house. 

The  rejection  of  the  report  of  the  committee  of  thirteen 
produced  the  deepest  sensation  in  and  out  of  congress. 
All  appeared  to  be  startled  at  the  situation  in  which  the 
question  was  now  left.  Even  those,  who  had  done  the 
most  to  produce  this  lamentable  state  of  things,  seemed  to 
tremble  at  their  own  doings,  like  the  eastern  magician, 
who  had  raised  up  a  fiend  unawares  by  his  unholy  incan- 
tattons.  Every  heart  began  to  yield  to  despair.  Mr. 
Clay  thought  it  best  to  leave  this  feeling  .to  operate,  for  a 
few  days,  without  control.  Perhaps  he  himself  felt  em- 
barrassment as  to  the  next  expedient  to  be  adopted.  The 
majority  of  the  house  had  repeatedly  decided  against  the 
unconditional  admission  of  Missouri.  There  was  no  hope 
of  changing  that  majority,  whatever  might  be  its  convic- 
tions. It  had  gone  too  far  to  recede.  The  same  majority 
had  now  decided  against  the  admission  of  the  state  under 
the  only  condition  that  appeared  defensible.  What  more 
could  be  done  ? 

During  the  repeated  debates,    to  which  this  question 


HENRY    CLAY.  209 

gave  rise,  Mr.  Clay,  deeply  penetrated  with  its  immense 
importance,  preserved  a  firm  and  unchanged  countenance. 
Endeavouring  to  detach  the  majority  from  its  leaders,  he 
would  sometimes  assail  the  latter  with  an  impetuosity, 
which  bore  them  down,  as  if  their  strength  had  been  but 
that  of  infancy.  He  would  say  to  them — what  is  your 
plan  as  to  Missouri  ?  She  is  no  longer  a  territory.  She 
is  a  state,  whether  admitted  into  the  union  or  not.  She  is 
capable  of  self-government,  and  she  is  governing  herself, 
Do  you  mean  to  force  her  permanently  from  the  union  ? 
Do  you  mean  to  lose  the  vast  publick  domain,  which  lies 
within  her  limits  ?  Do  you  intend  to  drive  her  back  to  a 
territorial  condition  ?  Do  you  intend  to  coerce  her  to  alter 
her  constitution?  How  will  you  do  all  this?  Is  it  your 
design  to  employ  the  bayonet?  We  tell  you  frankly  our 
views.  They  are  to  admit  her  absolutely  if  we  can,  and, 
if  not,  with  the  condition  which  we  have  offered.  You 
are  bound  to  disclose  your  views  with  equal  frankness. 
You  aspire  to  be  thought  statesmen.  As  sagacious  and 
enlightened  statesmen,  you  should  look  forward  to  the 
fearful  future,  and  let  the  country  understand  what  is  your 
remedy  for  the  evils  which  lie  before  us. 

To  all  this,  what  could  the  restrictionists  reply  ?  No- 
thing. They  had  no  plan  for  the  future,  and  they  offered 
none.  They  could  only  say,  that  they  wished  the  whole 
subject  to  be  referred  to  the  next  congress.  Where  would 
have  been  the  advantage  of  this  ?  It  was  evident,  that 
the  same  difficulty  would  again  arise,  unless,  indeed,  the 
difficulty  and  the  union  should,  during  the  intervening  peri- 
od, be  swallowed  up  together  in  the  wild  vortex  of  civil  war. 

Various  proposals  were,   at   length,  made  in  the  two 

houses  by  members  of  the  majority,  indicating  a  desire  to 

settle  the  question:  but  none  of  them  appeared  acceptable. 

Mr.  Clay,  to  whom  the  eyes  of  congress  and  of  the  nation 

18* 


210  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

were  still  turned,  as  the  only  person  capable  of  producing 
an  accommodation,  finally  submitted,  on  the  birth-day  of 
the  Father  of  his  country,  the  following  resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  that  a  committee  be  appointed,  on  the  part 
of  the  house,  jointly  with  such  committee  as  may  be  ap- 
pointed on  the  part  of  the  senate,  to  consider  and  report  to 
the  senate  and  house  of  representatives  respectively,  whe- 
ther it  be  expedient  or  not  to  make  provision  for  the  ad 
mission  of  Missouri  into  the  union  on  the  same  footing  as 
the  original  states,  and  for  the  due  execution  of  the  laws 
of  the  United  States  within  Missouri ;  and,  if  not,  whether 
any  other  and  what  provision,  adapted  to  her  actual  con- 
dition, ought  to  be  made  by  law." 

The  resolution  was  adopted  by  a  majority  of  near  two 
thirds  of  the  house,  and  was  subsequently  agreed  to  in  the 
senate  by  a  still  larger  majority.  To  give  dignity  and  so- 
lemnity to  the  proceedings,  and. to  increase  the  chances  of 
a  successful  result,  Mr.  Clay  proposed,  that  the  committee 
should  consist  of  twenty-three  members,  answering  to  the 
number  of  states  in  the  union,  and  that  the  members  should 
be  appointed  by  ballot.  Such  a  thing  had  never  taken 
place  in  the  house  of  representatives.  The  proposition, 
however,  was  sustained.  Members  from  all  parts  of  the 
house  now  repaired  to  Mr.  Clay  for  a  list  of  the  members 
whom  he  wished  associated  with  him  on  the  committee. 
He  had  prepared  such  a  list,  comprehending  a  sufficient 
number  of  those  members  of  the  majority  whose  minds  were 
believed  favourable  to  an  accommodation,  to  secure  the 
passage  of  any  resolution,  on  which  the  committee  might 
generally  agree.  Although  the  process  of  balloting  for  a 
large  committee,  in  such  a  numerous  body  as  the  house 
of  representatives,  is  necessarily  tedious  and  inconvenient, 
so  great  was  the  general  deference  to  the  opinions  and 
wishes  of  Mr.  Clay,  that  seventeen  members  were  elected 


HENRY    CLAY.  211 

from  his  list  on  the  first  ballot.  On  the  second  ballot,  the 
residue  of  the  committee  was  principally  made  up  from  the 
same  list.  Thus  it  appears,  that  even  the  advocates  for  the 
exclusion  of  Missouri  from  the  union,  still  regarded  Mr. 
Clay  with  reverence.  Incensed  as  they  were  at  his  whole 
party,  for  him  they  could  feel  nothing  but  respect  and  ve- 
neration. Although  they  saw,  that,  in  his  single  person, 
he  was  exercising  against  them  the  influence  of  more  than 
twenty  men,  they  knew  that  his  motives  were  above  re 
proach.  They  knew,  that 

"  Every  end  he  aimed  at  was  his  country's, 

His  God's,  and  truth's." 

On  the  meeting  of  the  joint  committees  of  the  two 
houses,  which  took  place  on  the  25th  of  February,  1821, 
a  preliminary  difficulty  arose.  Mr.  Clay  was  chairman 
of  the  committee  of  the  house,  and  Mr.  Holmes  of  that  of 
the  senate.  Which  chairman  was  to  preside  in  -the  joint 
session?  To  obviate  this  difficulty,  Mr.  Clay  proposed 
that  each  chairman  should  preside  over  the  committee  to 
which  he  belonged,  and  collect  the  sense  of  that  commit- 
tee on  every  motion  which  might  be  submitted.  The  pro- 
posal was  accepted.  The  committees  had  a  long  and  ar- 
duous session,  during  which  the  subject  of  the  admission 
of  Missouri  was  fully  considered  and  discussed.  Mr.  Clay 
exhorted  the  members  of  the  committee  to  mutual  conces- 
sion, telling  them,  that  it  would  be  in  vain  to  report  to  the 
house  any  plan  of  accommodation,  which  they  themselves, 
to  whatever  party  they  had  belonged,  should  refuse  to  sup- 
port in  the  final  vote.  Having  impressed  their  minds  with 
this  truth,  he  interrogated  them  separately  on  every  dis- 
tinct proposition.  Finally  a  resolution  was  agreed  upon 
by  so  many  of  the  members  of  the  committee  as  to  autho  • 
rize  a  confident  expectation,  that  it  would  be  sustained  by 


212  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

a  majority  of  the  house.  It  did  not  vary  essentially  from 
that  which  had  been  previously  reported  by  the  committee 
of  thirteen. 

The  next  day,  the  resolution  was  reported  to  the  house, 
and  Mr.  Clay  explained  the  proceedings  of  the  committee. 
A  short  discussion  ensued,  which  was  closed  by  a  call  for 
the  previous  question.  The  resolution  was  adopted  by  a 
majority  of  eighty-seven  to  eighty-one,  and  sent  to  the 
senate,  who  promptly  agreed  to  it.  The  solemn  publick 
act,  which  it  required  of  the  legislature  of  Missouri,  was 
passed  ;  the  proclamation  of  the  president  was  thereupon 
issued ;  and  the  new  state  was,  at  last,  admitted  into  the 
union,  and  her  senators  and  representatives,  at  the  suc- 
ceeding session  of  congress,  took  their  seats. 

Such  was  the  ultimate  issue  of  this  momentous  ques- 
tion. Its  publick  annunciation  was  received  with  the 
highest  transports  of  joy.  These  burst  forth  in  exclama- 
tions, that  Mr.  Clay  was  the  second  Washington — the 
saviour  of  his  country — the  pacificator  of  ten  millions  of 
people.  Even  in  those  states,  whose  representatives  had 
been  the  most  inflexibly  opposed  to  the  admission  of  Mis- 
souri, the  intelligence  of  the  issue  of  the  controversy  was 
received  with  silent  satisfaction  or  open  demonstrations  cf 
approbation;  whilst,  in  Missouri  herself,  a  deep  and  per- 
vasive sentiment  of  gratitude  was  felt  and  evinced  towards 
her  successful  advocate.  We  know  not  but  this  was  the 
proudest  day  that  Mr.  C.  had  ever  witnessed.  What 
now  was  wanting  for  the  consummation  of  his  glory? 
He  had  done  what  no  one  else,  but  the  great  Director  of 
events,  could  have  accomplished.  He  had  poured  the  oil 
of  peace  upon  the  stormy  sea,  when  the  heavens  above 
were  black  with  an  unnatural  night,  and  the  ship  of  state 
was  running  wild  before  the  tempest,  and  every  mast 
quivering,  as  if  recoiling  from  the  stroke  of  the  falling 
thunderbolt. 


HENRY  CLAY.  213 

The  speeches,  delivered  from  time  to  time  by  Mr.  Clay 
during  the  discussion  of  the  Missouri  question,  have  never 
been  published.  The  journals  of  the  day  have  not  re- 
corded what  he  said,  but  what  he  did.  He  probably  was 
too  entirely  occupied 'with  the  great  object,  which  he  had 
at  heart,  to  attend  to  the  preparation  or  revisal  of  his  re- 
marks. All  his  care  for  fame  was  lost  in  patriotism.  We 
have  understood,  that  he  occupied  himself  almost  inces- 
santly, night  and  day,  in  and  out  of  the  house,  in  the  pa- 
cification of  congress.  Upon  the  arrival  of  any  person  of 
influence  or  consideration  at  Washington,  Mr.  C.  would 
immediately  address  him,  and  endeavour  to  enlist  him  in 
favour  of  the  settlement  of  the  great  question,  or,  if  that 
could  not  be  effected,  to  persuade  him  to  take  a  neutral 
part.  So  great  was  his  excitement,  so  intense  the  interest 
he  felt,  and  so  unremitted  his  bodily  exertion,  that  he  has 
frequently  been  heard  to  declare,  that  his  health,  and,  in  all 
probability,  his  life,  would  have  been  lost,  if  the  admission 
of  Missouri  had  been  deferred  a  fortnight  longer. 

It  is  with  regret  we  record  the  fact,  that,  whilst  this  sub- 
ject was  before  the  house  in  1820,  and  the  fury  of  the  op- 
posing parties  was  at  its  height,  a  project  was  started  by 
certain  gentlemen  of  the  minority,  that  the  members  from  the 
slave-holding  states  should  secede  from  the  house  in  a 
body,  and  leave  the  representatives  from  the  other  states  in 
exclusive  possession  of  it.  The  success  of  this  project 
would  have  carried  with  it  the  instant  downfall  of  the 
republic  k. 

One  night,  when  the  house  was  engaged  in  debating 
the  great  question,  and  there  seemed  but  a  faint  prospect  of 
its  adjustment,  Mr.  Randolph  accosted  Mr.  Clay,  who,  for 
a  moment,  was  absent  from  the  chair,  and  said  to  him — 
11  Mr.  Speaker,  I  wish  you  would  quit  the  chair  and  leave 
the  house ;  I  will  follow  you  to  Kentucky  or  any  where 


BIOGRAPHY    OF^ 

else."  Mr.  R.  was  told,  in  reply,  that  his  proposition  was 
a  very  serious  one ;  and  that,  if  he  would  meet  Mr.  C.  the 
next  morning  in  the  speaker's  room,  the  latter  would  con- 
verse with  him  fully  on  the  whole  subject.  The  inter- 
view accordingly  took  place,  and  the  parties  had  a  long 
conversation,  relating  principally  to  the  propriety  of  a 
compromise.  Mr.  Randolph  was  decidedly  opposed  to 
any  compromise,  and  Mr.  Clay  was  in  favour  of  acceding 
to  one,  if  it  could  be  done  without  any  sacrifice  of  princi- 
ple. Each  maintained  his  opinions,  respectfully,  but  with 
firmness.  We  may  here  remark,  by  the  way,  that,  to- 
wards the  termination  of  this  interview,  mutual  explana- 
tions were  made  by  Messrs.  C.  and  R.  in  regard  to  some 
previous  personal  differences,  which  they  agreed  to  forget, 
and,  thenceforward,  to  be  upon  good  terms.  They  never 
exchanged  salutations  or  spoke  to  each  other  again  during 
that  session.  Soon  after  the  interview,  Mr.  Clay  was  suc- 
cessively informed,  b}'  a  senator  of  the  United  States  and 
a  member  of  the  house  of  representatives,  both  of  whom 
are  now  living,  that  Mr.  Randolph  had  been  attending  the 
gallant  and  lamented  Decatur  in  his  last  moments,  arid 
gazing  on  his  corpse ;  that  the  melancholy  scene  had 
greatly  excited  liim.  and  inspired  him  with  a  desire  to  have, 
like  Decatur,  an  affair  of  honour ;  and  that  lie  was 
known  to  wish  it  with  Mr.  Clay.  These  communica- 
tions naturally  made  Mr.  C.  regard  Mr.  Randolph's  man- 
ner, at  their  next  meeting,  with  some  attention ;  and,  as 
he  believed  it  to  be  repulsive,  the  parties  met,  as  they  ever 
afterwards  did  during  that  session,  without  speaking  to 
each  other. 

With  one  of  the  gentlemen  above  referred  to,  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph, at  the  session  of  1821,  used  every  persuasive  artifice 
to  prevent  his  agreeing  to  a  settlement  of  the  Missouri 
question.  Amongst  other  reasons,  he  urged,  that  if  the 


..... 


215 


controversy  should  be  adjusted,  the  effect  would  be  to  se- 
cure Mr.  Clay's  election  to  the  presidency  of  the  United 
States.  Even  Mr.  Clay's  personal  enemies,  it  seems,  were 
aware,  that,  if  he  succeeded  in  giving  peace  to  the  country 
at  that  perilous  dey,  no  reward  would  be  thought  too  glo- 
rious for  his  services. 


216  BIOGRAPHY   OP 


SECTION  SEVENTH 

ALTHOUGH  it  was  Mr.  Clay's  earnest  desire  to  devote 
himself  exclusively  to  the  regular  practice  of  law  after  his 
retirement  from  congress,  at  the  close  of  the  congressional 
session  of  1819-20,  his  fellow  citizens  still  continued  to 
importune  him  for  his  publick  services.  Among  other  ap- 
pointments, he  was,  in  1822,  delegated,  in  conjunction  with 
Mr.  Bibb,  now  a  senator  in  congress,  to  attend  the  sittings 
of  the  Virginia  legislature,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  an 
equitable  adjustment  of  certain  land  claims  in  Kentucky. 
'  We  allude  to  this  fact  on  account  of  an  amusing  incident 
that  occurred  in  the  course  of  the  application. 

It  is  well  known,  that  the  land  laws  of  Kentucky 
have  been  a  source  of  much  litigation  and  perplexity. 
Prior  to  its  separation  from  Virginia,  it  was  chiefly  settled 
by  emigrants  from  the  latter  state,  who  made  purchases 
of  large  tracts  of  land,  not  doubting  that  the  titles,  which 
were  holden  under  the  authority  of  Virginia,  were  per- 
fectly good.  They  discovered  soon  afterward,  however, 
that  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Kentucky  territory  was  lite- 
rally "shingled  over  with  titles;"  and  one  claim  gave 
way  to  another  only  to  be  superseded,  in  turn,  by  others 
of  still  earlier  date.  It  was  thought  by  the  people  of  Ken- 
tucky, that  Virginia  was  morally  bound  to  indemnify  the 
sufferers  under  her  laws.  To  remedy  the  hardships  of 
their  condition,  the  general  assembly  of  Kentucky  had 
passed  various  statutes,  known  under  the  denomination  of 
the  "  occupying  claimants'  laws."  Their  validity  under 
the'compact  between  the  two  states,  by  which  Kentucky 


HENRY   CLAY.  217 

became  independent,  was  controverted.  To  provide  a 
mode  for  settling  that  question,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
some  claims  which  the  state  of  Virginia  had  upon  the 
lands  south  of  Green  River,  in  the  limits  of  Kentucky, 
Messrs.  Clay  and  Bibb  were  deputed  as  commissioners,  to 
make  application  to  the  legislature  of  the  former  state. 

After  considerable  exertion,  the  two  delegates  obtained 
a  hearing  before  that  body;  and  Mr.  C.  is  said  to  have 
made  one  of  his  finest  efforts.  In  the  course  of  his  appeal, 
he  alluded,  with  the  most  heart-stirring  pathos,  to  the  con- 
dition of  those  men  who  had  gone  out  from  Virginia  to 
seek  a  home  in  a  sister  state,  and  were  afterwards  driven 
from  their  temporary  refuge  by  the  tyranny  of  the  law. 
The  mournful  feeling  of  the  emigrant,  sobbing  an  adieu  to 
the  tombs  and  temples  of  his  fathers — his  toils  and  suffer- 
ings in  building  up  a  new  habitation,  and  gathering  the 
manna  of  Heaven,  like  the  children  of  Israel,  from  the 
bosom  of  the  wilderness. — these  things  were  dwelt  on 
by  Mr.  Clay  with  a  depth  and  fervour  of  feeling,  to  which 
every  heart  passionately  responded.  It  was  known,  that 
the  orator  himself,  before  the  silken  locks  of  boyhood  were 
yet  dark  upon  his  temples,  had  gone  from  his  own  land  in 
poverty  to  establish  his  fortunes  in  a  stranger-land  ;  and 
this  circumstance  caused  his  eloquence  to  sink  upon  the 
passions  of  his  hearers  with  a  still  deeper  spell.  In  the 
midst  of  one  of  his  finest  passages,  it  occurred  to  him  to 
quote  these  beautiful  and  affecting  lines  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott : 

"  Lives  there  a  heart  so  cold  and  dead, 
That  never  to  itself  hath  said, 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land !" 

He  began  the  quotation,  but  the  words  escaped  his  memo- 
ry, and  he  could  not  proceed.     It  was  one  of  those  mo- 
19 


218 


BIOGRAPHY   OF 


ments  the  most  trying  to  a  publick  speaker,  and  the  most 
decisive  of  his  presence  of  mind.  Without  manifesting 
the  least  hesitation,  Mr.  C.  pressed  his  hand  upon  his  brow, 
until  he  could  recal  the  language  of  his  author,  and  then 
proceeded  to  repeat  it  in  his  most  impassioned  manner. 
The  effect  was  like  that  of  magick.  Every  spectator  be- 
lieved, that,  when  the  orator  clasped  his  forehead  in 
silence,  the  memory  of  other  years  was  swelling  in  his 
bosom  and  choking  his  utterance  with  tears;  and,  from 
all  parts  of  the  hall,  there  was  an  answering  gush,  as  if 
every  heart  had  been  dissolved  to  a  fountain  in  that  one 
flow  of  passion. 

The  mission  of  Messrs.  Clay  and  Bibb  led  to  the  ap- 
pointment, in  the  course  of  the  year,  of  B.  W.  Leigh,  Esq. 
to  treat  in  behalf  of  Virginia,  with  the  state  of  Kentuckj', 
of  the  subjects  on  which  they  had  been  sent.  Mr.  Clay 
was  appointed  to  conduct  the  negociation  on  the  part  of 
Kentucky,  with  Mr.  Leigh.  They  concluded,  at  Ash- 
land, a  convention,  wrhich  was  ratified  by  the  legislature 
of  Kentucky  and  by  the  house  of  delegates  of  Virginia, 
but  was  rejected  in  her  senate  by  a  small  majority. 

Mr.  Clay,  at  the  earnest  and  repeated  solicitations  of  his 
fellow  citizens,  accepted  a  re-appointment  to  congress  in 
the  summer  of  1823.  By  the  profits  of  a  legal  practice  of  • 
less  than  three  years,  he  had  retrieved  his  pecuniary  losses, 
and  could  now  afford,  once  more,  to  devote  his  time  to  the 
service  of  his  country. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  session  his  name  was 
again  presented  for  the  distinguished  honour  of  presiding 
in  the  house ;  and  he  was  elected  to  the  chair,  in  opposi- 
tion to  Mr.  P.  P.  Barbour,  of  Virginia,  a  highly  popular 
member,  who  had  filled  the  chair  during  the  preceding 
congress,  by  a  majority  of  more  than  three  fourths  of  the 


HENRY    CLAY.  219 

members.     The  following  jeu  <X  esprit  appeared  shortly 
after : 

"  As  near  the  Potomack's  broad  stream  t'other  day, 

Fair  LIBERTY  wandered  all  pensive  along, 

Deep  pondering  the  future — unheeding  her  way — 

She  met  goddess  NATURE,  her  mother,  at  dawn. 

1  Good  mother,'  she  cried,  '  deign  to  help  me  at  need ! 

I  must  make  for  my  guardians  a  Speaker  to-day, 

The  first  in  the  world  I  would  give  them1 — '  Indeed ! 

When  I  made  the  first  speaker,  I  made  him  of  CLAY.'  " 

It  was  in  the  course  of  this  session  of  congress,  that  the 
subject  of  the  Greek  revolution,  so  familiar  to  all  Christen- 
dom, was  discussed  in  the  house  of  representatives. 
Greece  was  then  fighting  for  deliverance  from  her  ancient 
inheritance  of  bondage,  with  a  bravery  unsurpassed  by 
the  heroes  of  her  olden  time.  Her  beautiful  isles,  that 
floated  like  perennial  blossoms  upon  the  bosom  of  her 
waters,  had  beeu  dyed  in  gore ;  the  lava-stream  of  war 
had  left  her  plains  and  valleys  an  herbless  and  blackened 
waste ;  her  women  and  children  were  sinking  beneath 
the  slow  and  lingering  tortures  of  famine ;  but  still  she 
met  her  oppressor  with  an  undaunted  front,  and  struck 
home  with  an  arm  nerved  for  vengeance  by  the  hoarded 
wrongs  of  centuries.  Food  and  clothing  were  sent  from 
the  United  States  for  the  relief  of  her  sufferings;  our  pa- 
triots were  drawing  their  swords  in  her  cause;  andj 
throughout  the  whole  country,  there  was  a  pervading 
anxiety,  that  our  government  should  do  every  thing  for 
Greece,  that  was  consistent  with  the  laws  of  nations. 

Mr.  Webster  presented  to  the  house  of  representatives, 
in  January,  a  resolution  providing  for  the  recognition  of 
the  independence  of  Greece,  and  sustained  it  in  a  speech, 
which  will  long  be  remembered  as  an  honour  to  his  talents 
and  his  character.  Mr.  Clay,  true  to  the  principles  which 


220  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

he  had  so  often  and  so  gloriously  vindicated,  when  the 
independence  of  South  America  was  under  the  considera- 
tion of  the  house,  came  promptly  forward  to  the  support 
of  Mr.  Webster,  and,  although  his  speech  was  not  long,  it 
was  one  of  the  most  powerful  bursts  of  mind  ever  wit- 
nessed upon  the  floor  of  congress.  The  speaker  ap- 
peared, as  he  proceeded,  to  gather  within  himself  the  great 
and  enthusiastick  thoughts  of  all  the  patriots  of  ancient 
and  modern  times,  and  send  them  out  in  a  torrent,  deep, 
rapid,  and  magnificent. 

The  arguments  which  Mr.  Clay  used  on  this  occasion, 
were  advanced  in  the  same  spirit  with  those  by  which  he 
had  procured  the  recognition  of  South  America.  There 
were  the  same  sympathy  for  the  oppressed,  the  same  deep 
and  holy  love  of  liberty,  the  same  execration  of  tyranny,  and 
the  same  going  forth  of  the  soul  to  embrace  mankind  in  one 
great  plan  of  benevolence.  We  have  room  but  for  the  follow- 
ing paragraph,  taken  from  among  the  last  of  the  speech  : 

"  What  appearance,  Mr.  Chairman,  on  the  page  of  his- 
tory, would  a  record  like  this  exhibit  ?  '  In  the  month 
of  January,  in  the  }rear  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  1 824, 
while  all  European  Christendom  beheld  with  cold  and 
unfeeling  indifference  the  unexampled  wrongs  and  inex- 
pressible miseries  of  Christian  Greece,  a  proposition  was 
made  in  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  almost  the  sole, 
the  last,  the  greatest  depository  of  human  hope  and  hu- 
man freedom,  the  representatives  of  a  gallant  nation,  con- 
taining a  million  of  freemen  ready  to  fly  to  arms,  while 
the  people  of  that  nation  were  spontaneously  expressing 
its  deep-toned  feeling,  and  the  whole  continent,  by  one 
simultaneous  emotion,  was  rising  and  solemnly  and  anx- 
iously supplicating  and  invoking  high  Heaven  to  spare 
and  succour  Greece,  and  to  invigorate  her  arms,  in  her 
glorious  course,  while  temples  and  senate-houses  were  alike 


HENRY  CLAY.  221 

resounding  with  one  burst  of  generous  and  holy  sympa- 
thy ;  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour — that  Saviour 
of  Greece  and  of  us — a  proposition  was  offered  in  the 
American  congress  to  send  a  messenger  to  Greece,  to  in- 
quire into  her  state  and  condition,  with  a  kind  expression 
of  our  good  wishes  and  our  sympathies — and  it  was  re- 
jected!' Go  home,  if  you  can — go  home,  if  you  dare,  to 
your  constituents,  and  tell  them,  that  you  voted  it  down — 
meet,  if  you  can,  the  appalling  countenances  of  those  who 
sent  you  here,  and  tell  them  that  you  shrank  from  the 
declaration  of  your  own  sentiments — that  you  cannot  tell 
how,  but  that  some-  unknown  dread,  some  indescribable 
apprehension,  some  indefinable  danger,  droveyou  from  your 
purpose — that  the  spectres  of  scimitars,  and  crowns,  and 
crescents,  gleamed  before  you,  and  alarmed  you ;  and  that 
you  suppressed  all  the  noble  feelings  prompted  by  religion, 
by  liberty,  by  national  independence,  and  by  humanity." 

Notwithstanding  the  combined  efforts  of  the  two  great- 
est men  in  congress,  the  resolution  in  favour  of  sending  a 
minister  to  Greece  was  not  sustained  by  a  majority. 

It  is  a  distinguishing  characteristick  of  Mr.  Clay,  that 
he  rarely  desists  from  a  great  effort  till  his  labours  meet 
with  the  reward  of  success.  He  regards  one,  two,  or  three 
defeats,  as  of  little  consequence,  provided  he  can  accom- 
plish, in  the  fourth,  the  great  object  which  he  has  at  heart. 
It  is  true,  he  had  not  an  opportunity  of  renewing  in  con- 
gress the  discussion  of  the  independence  of  Greece,  but  we 
shall  see,  in  the  progress  of  his  history,  that  he  kept  the 
subject  constantly  in  view,  till,  by  one  well-imagined  and 
memorable  act,  he  contributed  to  give  peace,  and  liberty, 
and  happiness,  to  that  distracted  and  suffering  country. 

While  the  question  of  the  recognition  of  Greece  was  be- 
fore the  house  of  representatives,  a  new  member  from 
New-Hampshire,  who  has  since  gained  a  good  reputation 
19* 


222  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

for  talents,  assailed  Mr.  Clay  with  unjustifiable  personali- 
ties. There  was  no  doubt  but  he  did  this,  from  motives 
of  vanity.  He  wished  to  bring  himself  into  immediate  no- 
tice by  becoming  a  party  in  an  encounter  with  the  great- 
est man  in  congress.  Whatever  his  motive  may  have 
been,  he  certainly  had  cause  to  rue  the  result.  Mr.  Clay 
turned  upon  him,  and,  with  a  tone  and  manner  of  half 
pity  and  half  indignation,  humbled  his  vaulting  spirit  so 
effectually,  that  he  was  scarcely  seen  to  rise  in  his  place 
again  for  two  or  three  years. 

Probably  no  other  session  of  congress  was  ever  passed 
so  laboriously  by  Mr.  Clay  as  that  of  1824.  It  was 
during  that  session,  as  our  readers  may  recollect,  that  he 
ultimately  carried  the  great  'measures  of  the  tariff  (4) 
and  of  South  American  independence ;  and  his  exertions, 
on  other  important  questions,  were  such  as  no  other  man 
at  that  day  could  have  made.  His  control  over  the  le- 
gislation of  the  United  States,  although  he  was  but  a 
member  of  the  house  of  representatives,  had  long  been 
greater  than  that  of  the  executive,  as  was  occasionally  pro- 
ved by  trials  of  strength  between  them.  Mr.  Monroe  was 
deservedly  a  popular  man ;  but,  with  all  his  popularity  and 
official  influence,  he  was  usually  compelled  to  submit  his 
own  wishes  to  those  of  Mr.  Clay. 

(4)  See  Appendix. 


-X 

HENRY    CLAY. 


SECTION  EIGHTH. 

PASSING  over  various  important  events  in  Mr.  Clays 
history,  we  come  now  to  speak  of  the  part  which  he  took 
in  the  presidential  election  of  1825.  It  is  well  remember- 
ed bj  the  community,  that,  as  early  as  1822,  five  gentle- 
men, Messrs.  John  GL  Adams,  Henry  Clay,  Andrew 
Jackson,  William  H  Crawford,  and  John  C.  Calhoun, 
were  announced  by  their  respective  friends  as  candidates 
for  the  presidency.  The  earnestness  with  which  the  can- 
vass was  conducted,  is  familiar  to  all.  For  a  long  time, 
the  issue  could  not  be  anticipated  with  any  degree  of  con- 
fidence. There  seemed  a  moral  certainty,  that  no  choice 
would  be  made  by  the  people ;  and  much  speculation  was 
indulged  as  to  which  three  of  the  candidates  would  be  re- 
turned to  the  house  of  representatives.  Mr.  Clay  was 
nominated  by  the  legislatures  of  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Louisi- 
ana, and  Missouri ;  and  his  party  was  so  numerous  in 
most  of  the  other  states,  that  there  was  every  prospect  of 
his  being  one  of  the  three  successful  competitors.  The 
probabilities  of  such  an  event  appeared  strong  up  to  the 
time  of  the  appointment  of  electors  in  Louisiana,  the  vote 
of  which  state  would  have  carried  him  into  the  house,  to 
the  exclusion  of  Mr.  Crawford.  The  electors  in  Louisi- 
ana were  to  be  appointed  by  the  legislature,  and  it  was 
well  known,  that  a  majority  of  the  members  were  Mr. 
Clay's  political  friends.  The  fact  had  been  proved  by  his 
previous  nomination  in  that  body.  Those  of  the  members, 
who  were  friendly  to  the  other  candidates,  proposed,  of 


224  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

their  own  accord,  to  let  Mr.  Clay  have  four  of  the  five 
electoral  votes ;  but  his  supporters  were  conscious  of  their 
strength,  and  would  agree  to  no  compromise.  As  the  lime 
for  the  appointment  of  electors  approached,  however,  three 
or  four  of  Mr.  C.'s  friends  became  so  indisposed  ns  to  be 
unable  to  attend  the  sittings  of  the  legislature.  Taking 
advantage  of  this  circumstance,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Adams 
and  General  Jackson  formed  a  coalition,  by  the  terms  of 
which,  two  of  the  electoral  votes  were  to  be  given  to  the 
former,  and  three  to  the  latter.  The  arrangement  was 
carried  into  effect  by  a  majority  of  thirty  to  twenty-nine  ; 
and  Mr.  Clay  was  consequently  excluded  from  the  house 
of  representatives.  Had  he  gone  into  the  house,  his  ex- 
treme popularity  there,  however  small  his  electoral  vote 
might  have  been,would  probably  have  enabled  him  to  secure 
the  office  of  president  in  spite  of  all  competition ;  but  it  is 
worthy  of  remark,  and  will  remain  a  lasting  honour  to  his 
character,  that  he  had  resolved,  even  when  there  was  al- 
most an  absolute  certainty  of  his  being  one  of  the  three 
highest  candidates  on  the  list,  to  withdraw  his  name,  as 
soon  as  the  question  should  come  before  the  representa- 
tives of  the  nation.  Finding,  toward  the  close  of  the  can- 
vass, that  he  was  likely  to  go  into  the  house  with  a  smaller 
number  of  votes  than  either  General  Jackson  or  Mr.  Ad- 
ams, he  communicated  to  senator  Johnson,  of  Louisiana, 
and  several  other  gentlemen,  his  resolution  to  retire  from 
the  contest,  in  order  that  the  election  might  be  the  more 
readily  and  amicably  decided.  Such  a  spirit  of  magna- 
nimity and  patriotism  it  is  impossible  not  to  admire ;  but 
we  fear  there  are  few,  who  could  bring  themselves  to  imi- 
tate it. 

It  was  finally  ascertained,  that  the  three  candidates  re- 
turned to  the  house  by  the  electoral  colleges,  were  Andrew- 
Jackson,  John  GL  Adams,  and  William  H.  Crawford ;  the 


HENRY    CLAY.  225 

first  of  whom  had  received  ninety-nine  votes,  the  second 
eighty-four,  and  the  third  forty-one.  This  result  was  as- 
certained toward  the  close  of  December,  1 824.  Of  course, 
it  now  devolved  on  Mr.  Clay,  as  a  member  of  the  house, 
to  determine  which  one  of  these  three  competitors  should 
receive  his  vote.  Several  weeks  were  to  intervene  before 
the  election,  and  the  friends  of  the  rival  candidates  imme- 
diately began  to  beset  Mr.  Clay  with  flatteries  and  caresses. 
All  expressed  the  most  heart-felt  regret,  that  he  had  not 
been  returned  to  the  house.  In  a  letter  written  to  a  friend 
at  that  time,  he  remarked — "I  am  enjoying,  whilst  alive, 
the  posthumous  honours  which  are  usually  awarded  to 
the  illustrious  dead."  The  object  of  these  ostentatious 
and  obtrusive  honours  could  not  be  unknown  to  him.  He 
knew,  that  his  vote  and  influence  were  sought  for  by 
almost  every  man,  who  approached  him.  Under  these 
circumstances,  what  was  his  duty?  To  become  instantly 
an  active  and  noisy  partizan?  Every  consideration  of 
delicacy  and  propriety  forbade  it.  He  himself  had  but 
recently  been  a  candidate  for  the  presidency ;  each  of  the 
candidates  now  before  the  house  had  been  his  rival,  and  he 
had  been  theirs ;  the  relation  he  had  borne  to  them  was  of 
the  most  delicate  nature;  rnd  hence  he  could  not  permit 
himself  to  go  out  into  publick  places  to  proclaim  his  pre- 
ferences and  electioneer  for  his  favourite.  With  his  per- 
sonal friends  he  freely  interchanged  opinions,  but,  in  con- 
versation with  others,  he  deemed  it  fitting  that  the  subject 
of  the  presidency  should  be  waived  altogether. 

This  commendable  and  decorous  reserve  of  Mr.  Clay 
was  soon  noticed,  and  made  a  theme  of  much  and  various 
speculation.  It  was  thought  a  strange  and  mysterious 
thing,  that,  while  the  din  of  conflict  was  in  his  ears,  he 
did  not  instantly  enlist  under  one  of  his  late  rivals,  and 
reduce  himself  to  the  level  of  a  common  belligerant.  Omi- 


BIOGRAPHY   OF 

nous  hints  began  to  be  made  to  him  in  conversation; 
anonymous  letters,  full  of  abusive  and  threatening  lan- 
guage, were  daily  and  almost  hourly  addressed  to  him ; 
and  a  systematick  attack,  the  signal-word  for  which  had 
gone  forth  from  Washington,  was  commenced  simultane- 
ously in  every  part  of  the  country.  It  was  believed  that 
his  influence  might  decide  the  election ;  and  no  means, 
that  gave  promise  of  awing  his  spirit,  were  left  unpracti- 
sed. All  these  things  he  bore  with  an  unbending  forti- 
tude. In  a  subsequent  letter  to  his  constituents,  he  said — 
''  I  bore  them,  I  trust,  as  your  representative  ought  to  have 
borne  them,  and  as  became  me." 

It  is  possible,  that  some  of  Mr.  Clay's  friends,  at  length, 
hinted  in  conversation,  that  he  would  probably  prefer  Mr. 
Adams  to  either  of  the  other  candidates.  However  this 
may  have  been,  a  letter  was  published  in  Philadelphia, 
purporting  to  have  been  written  by  a  member  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania delegation  in  congress,  and  stating,  that  overtures 
were  said  to  have  been  made  to  the  friends  of  Clay,  offering 
him  the  appointment  of  secretary  of  state,  for  his  aid  to 
elect  Mr.  Adams,  and  that  the  overtures  had  been  accepted. 
This  letter  was  a  component  part  of  the  machinery,  that 
had  been  put  in  operation  to  frighten  him ;  but,  when  he 
saw  it,  he  considered  himself  at  liberty  to  be  silent  no 
longer.  He  was  the  presiding  officer  of  the  house ;  a 
member  of  that  house  had  publickly  charged  him  with 
corruption ;  his  character  was  at  stake  ;  and  he  felt  that 
every  motive  of  honour  and  of  self-respect  required  him  to 
act  decisively.  Without  delay,  he  published  a  card  in  the 
National  Intelligencer,  denying,  in  strong  and  indignant 
terms,  the  charges  of  the  Philadelphia  letter,  and  calling 
upon  the  author  to  avow  himself  and  sustain  them.  In 
a  few  da3*s,  Mr.  George  Kremer,  a  member  of  congress 
from  Pennsylvania,  published  an  answering  card,  declar- 


HENRY    CLAY.  227 

ing  himself  the  author  of  the  letter,  and  stating,  that,  so 
far  as  the  character  of  Mr.  Clay-was  concerned,  he  stood 
prepared  to  make  good  his  allegations.  This  card, 
although  appearing  under  the  name  of  Mr.  Kremer,  wag 
probably  written  by  John  H.  Eaton,  the  present  secretary 
of  war.  This  gentleman  was,  at  least,  closeted  with  Mr. 
Kremer  a  long  time  on  the  night  previous  to  its  publica- 
tion; and,  in  a  correspondence  which  Mr.  Clay  subse- 
quently held  with  Major  E.,  the  latter  did  not  deny  the 
authorship  of  the  card,  although  directly  charged  with  it. 
Every  thing  went  to  prove,  that,  in  the  whole  transaction, 
Mr.  Kremer  was  but  a  passive  instrument  in  hands  invisi- 
ble. In  the  card  he  was  made  to  avow  himself  the  author 
of  the  Philadelphia  letter;  but,  afterwards,  he  frankly  told 
Mr.  Crowninshield,  a  member  of  congress  from  Massa- 
chusetts, and  formerly  secretary  of  war,  that  he  was  not 
the  author  of  it. 

A  few  hours  after  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Kremer's  card, 
Mr.  Clay  made  an  ingenuous  and  dignified  communica- 
tion to  the  house,  alluding  to  Mr.  K.'s  publication,  and 
earnestly  requesting  an  investigation  of  his  own  conduct. 
Mr.  Kremer  immediately  arose  in  his  place,  and  repeated, 
that  he  had  said  nothing  against  Mr.  Clay,  which  he  was 
not  ready  to  substantiate  before  the  house.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  the  subject  came  up  for  consideration,  and,  in 
the  course  of  the  discussion,  Mr.  Kremer  said  to  Mr.  Brent, 
of  Louisiana,  and  to  Mr.  Little,  of  Maryland,  the  latter  a 
friend  of  General  Jackson,  "  that  he  never  intended  to 
charge  Mr.  C.  with  corruption  or  dishonour  in  his  in- 
tended vote  for  Mr.  Adams  as  president,  or  that  he  had 
transferred  or  could  transfer  the  votes  or  interests  of  his 
friends  ;  that  he  (Mr.  Kremer}  was  among  the  last  men  in 
the  nation  to  make  such  a  charge  AGAINST  MR.  CLAY; 
and,  that  his  letter  was  never  intended  to  convey  the  idea 


228  BIOGRAPHY  OP 

given  to  it."  To  this  declaration  of  Mr.  Kremer,  Messrs. 
Brent  and  Little  have  both  certified.  Mr.  Digges,  a  dis- 
tinguished citizen  of  Washington,  has  certified,  that  Mr. 
K.  made  the  same  declaration  in  his  presence.  The  dis- 
cussion, however,  proceeded ;  and,  very  soon,  a  member  of 
the  house,  friendly  to  Mr.  Kremer,  carried  to  Mr.  Clay 
the  copy  of  an  explanation,  which,  he  said,  that  Mr:  K. 
was  ready  to  make  before  the  house,  if  Mr.  C.  would  be 
satisfied  with  it.  This  explanation  went  to  absolve  Mr. 
Clay  entirely  from  any  charge  which  had  been  preferred 
against  him.  To  the  member,  who  presented  it,  Mr.  C. 
replied,  that  the  subject-matter  was  before  the  representa- 
tives of  the  nation,  whence  it  could  not  properly  be  with- 
drawn by  him.  Shortly  afterwards,  Mr.  Ingham  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  present  secretary  of  the  treasury,  got  posses- 
sion of  Mr.  Kremer' s  written  explanation,  deposited  it 
safely  in  his  pocket,  and  earnestly  cautioned  Mr.  K. 
against  adopting  a  single  measure  in  the  affair  without 
first  taking  the  advice  of  his  political  friends.  Still  Mr. 
K.'s  conscience  was  ill  at  ease;  and  he  told  Mr.  Cooke  of 
Illinois,  that  he  was  resolved  to  apologize  to  Mr.  C.  before 
the  house  on  the  following  day.  On  this  ground,  Mr. 
Cooke  moved  for  an  adjournment ;  and  the  house  accord- 
ingly adjourned,  after  having  referred  the  investigation  to 
a  committee  to  be  appointed  on  the  morrow. 

The  morrow  came ;  but,  with  it,  came  not  the  promised 
apology  from  Mr.  Kremer.  He  had  seen  his  friends.  A 
committee  of  seven  members,  each  member  a  political  op- 
ponent of  Mr.  Clay,  was  appointed  in  the  house  by  ballot 
at  his  request ;  and  this  committee  called  on  Mr.  Kremer 
to  substantiate  his  charges  according  to  promise.  To  do 
this  he  had  no  power.  To  retract  his  charges  and  do  Mr. 
Clay  justice  was  contrary  to  the  express  instructions  of 
his  friends.  Only  one  course  remained.  His  officious 


HENRY  CLAY.  229 

friends  drew  up  in  his  name  an  elaborate  communication 
to  the  committee,  stating,  that,  as  the  affair  under  inves- 
tigation was  one,  over  which  the  house  had  no  constitu- 
tional authority,  he  should  decline  responding  to  the  call 
made  on  him.(5)  Here  the  matter  terminated  ;  and  who 
could  then  suppose,  that  Mr.  Clay's  enemies  would  ever 
again  dare  to  repeat  Mr.  Kremer's  charge?  Here  was  a 
full  opportunity  for  the  investigation ;  the  tribunal  was 
precisely  such  a  one,  as  they  would  have  selected ;  the 
proofs,  if  any  existed,  were  new  and  at  hand ;  the  accuser, 
whom  they  had  thrust  forward,  was  on  the  ground  ; — and 
yet  what  did  they  do  ?  Shrunk  from  the  investigation, 
lest  the  veil,  which  they  had  spread  over  their  conduct, 
should  be  rent  away  by  the  iron  hand  of  truth,  and  the 
sunlight  of  heaven  let  in  upon  their  nameless  abomina- 
tions. To  guard  themselves  against  detection,  they  put 
their  hands  upon  the  mouth  of  their  champion,  smothered 
all  his  generous  impulses,  hid  his  confessions  in  their 
pockets,  and  compelled  him  to  be  as  silent  as  if  he  had 
been  stricken  dumb  by  the  wrath  of  heaven. 

After  this  infamous  mockery  had  passed  by,  Mr.  Clay, 
as  the  election  in  the  house  was  yet  to  take  place,  had  a 
full  opportunity  to  look  around  him ;  to  examine  his  situa- 
tion in  reference  to  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future; 
and  judge  deliberately  and  dispassionately  of  the  course, 
which  duty  required  him  to  pursue.  He  knew,  that  all  eyes 
were  upon  him.  He  was  aware,  that  he  could  vote  for 
neither  of  the  three  candidates,  without  exposing  himself 
to  the  keenest  and  deadliest  arrows  of  partizan  vengeance  ; 
but  his  was  not  a  spirit  to  shrink  from  his  responsibility  to 
his  country,  on  account  of  personal  or  political  considera- 
tions. 

In  examining  into  his  duty,  the  comparative  number  of 

(5)  See  Appendix. 
20 


230  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

votes,  with  which  the  three  competitors  came  before  the 
house,  was  made  a  subject  of  long  and  patient  reflection. 
Some  politicians  have  contended,  that,  when  a  presidential 
election  devolves  on  the  house,  the  representative  has  no 
right  to  exercise  his  discretion,  but  is  under  an  impera- 
tive obligation  to  vote  for  the  candidate,  who  has  received 
a  plurality  of  votes  in  the  electoral  colleges.  Mr.  Clay 
justly  considered  such  a  doctrine  absurd.  The  constitu- 
tion says,  "from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers, 
not  exceeding  three,  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  presi- 
dent, the  house  of  representatives  shall  CHOOSE  immediately, 
by  ballot,  a  president."  Mr.  C.  very  naturally  concluded, 
that  the  authority  to  "  choose"  necessarily  implied  a  dis- 
cretion on  the  part  of  the  representative.  If  the  framers 
of  the  constitution  had  designed,  that  the  representative,  in 
such  a  case,  should  not  act  as  a  free  agent,  but  be  con- 
strained to  vote  for  the  candidate  highest  on  the  electoral 
list,  they  would  not  have  referred  the  decision  to  the  house 
of  representatives  at  all.  They  would  have  made  a  plu- 
rality of  votes  in  the  electoral  colleges  decisive  of  the  elec- 
tion. Those  political  fathers  of  our  country  preferred, 
however,  that,  in  cases  where  the  people  of  the  United 
States  were  too  distracted  in  sentiment  to  give  a  majority 
of  votes  to  any  one  presidential  candidate,  the  wisdom  and 
good  sense  of  the  house  of  representatives  should  constitute 
the  guarantee  of  a  correct  decision.  What,  then,  is  the 
province  of  the  representative?  If  he  refuses  the  exercise 
of  the  discretion  required  of  him,  and  submits  his  judg- 
ment to  a  criterion,  which  the  constitution  has  pronounced 
unsafe,  he  is  a  traitor  to  the  constitution,  a  traitor  to  his 
country.  Mr.  Clay  believed,  that  nothing  could  be  more 
untrue  than  the  supposition,  that  99,  out  of  216  electoral 
votes,  ought  to  exercise  an  absolute  control  over  the  re- 
maining 162;  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  electoral  votes 


HENRY   CLAY.  231 

of  a  minority  of  the  states  could  operate  as  a  binding  in- 
struction upon  the  congressional  representatives  of  the  ma- 
jority. 

Apart  from  the  comparative  strength  of  the  three  can- 
didates in  the  electoral  colleges,  there  was  another  consi- 
deration, which  demanded  Mr.  Clay  s  attention.  The  le- 
gislature of  Kentucky  had  requested  him  and  his  col- 
leagues to  give  their  votes  for  General  Jackson.  Was  this 
request  obligatory  on  him  ?  He  thought  differently.  The 
members  of  the  Kentucky  legislature  were  not  his  con- 
stituents more  than  he  was  theirs ;  and  had  no  more  right 
to  control  him  than  he  to  control  them.  No  other  le- 
gislature interfered  with  the  election  in  the  house ;  and 
that  of  Kentucky  unquestionably  transcended  its  duty, 
not  to  say  its  dignity.  A  large  meeting  of  the  citizens  of 
the  district,  which  Mr.  Clay  represented,  communicated  to 
him  their  disapprobation  of  the  resolution  of  the  legisla- 
ture, and  instructed  him  to  vote  according  to  his  own  best 
judgment. (6)  It  is  a  singular  fact,  that,  at  the  present 
day,  the  very  men,  who,  for  the  purpose  of  injuring  Mr, 
Clay,  contend,  that  the  will  of  a  state  legislature  is,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  obligatory  on  the  representative  in 
voting  for  president,  contend  also,  that  a  plurality  of  suf- 
frages in  the  electoral  colleges  is  equally  obligatory.  Both 
these  doctrines  cannot  be  correct ;  and  it  appears  suffi- 
ciently plain,  that  neither  of  them  is  correct. 

Esteeming  it  not  only  his  privilege  but  his  duty  to  judge 
for  himself,  Mr.  Clay  found  it  necessary  to  examine  the 
comparative  qualifications  and  claims  of  the  three  candi- 
dates. 

Mr.  Crawford  soon  appeared  to  be  wholly  out  of  the 
question.  He  had  been  a  paralytick  nearly  two  years,  and 

(6)  See  Appendix. 


232  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

there  was  no  probability  of  his  restoration  to  such  a  mea- 
sure of  health,  as  would  enable  him  to  discharge  the  du- 
ties of  the  presidential  office.  The  spirit  of  partisan  mis- 
representation had  striven,  with  some  success,  to  mislead 
the  public  as  to  his  condition ;  but  Mr.  Clay  knew,  from 
indubitable  sources,  that  his  election,  under  the  circum- 
stances which  then  existed,  would  be  an  imposition  upon 
the  country.  The  fact  has  since  been  universally  admit- 
ted. Mr.  Clay,  in  a  written  address,  which  he  prepared 
for  his  constituents  near  that  time,  described  Mr.  Craw- 
ford's condition  plainly  and  without  disguise.  General 
Lafayetter  to  whom  the  manuscript  was  submitted,  noted 
the  passage,  and  begged  Mr.  Clay  to  soften  it,  if  possible. 
"  We  know,"  said  the  venerable  man,  "that  this  is  all  true; 
but  may  not  the  promulgation  of  it  have  a  tendency  to 
depress  our  friend  Crawford's  feelings,  and  render  his  situ- 
ation more  unpleasant  and  dangerous?"  Mr.  Clay  ac- 
quiesced, without  hesitation,  in  the  kind  suggestion  of 
Lafayette,  and  changed  the  phraseology  of  his  address, 
in  a  manner  to  render  it  unobjectionable.  Aside  too  from 
considerations  of  Mr.  Crawford's  bodily  debility  and  im- 
paired mental  faculties,  Mr.  Clay  knew,  that  the  votes  of 
the  western  states  in  congress,  would  not  be  sufficient  to 
elect  him.  They  would  have  had  no  other  effect  than  to 
give  birth  to  the  acrimony  and  fury  of  a  protracted  con- 
flict ;  and,  after  all,  the  house  would  have  been  brought 
to  a  decision  between  Adams  and  Jackson. 

Between  these  two  men,  Mr.  C.  felt  himself  constrained 
to  choose.  He  knew  that,  if  he  chose  Mr.  Adams,  the 
dark  spirit  of  his  enemies,  which  had  already  been  mani- 
fest, would  again  break  loose  and  rage  with  increased 
fury  for  its  victim.  Still,  how  could  he  hesitate  ?  Before 
leaving  Kentucky,  he  had  declared  to  Dr.  Drake,  a 
medical  professor  in  Transylvania  university,  to  John.  J. 


HENRY   CLAY.  233 

Cnttenden,  a  distinguished  citizen  and  attorney  of  Frank- 
fort, and  to  other  gentlemen,  with  whom  he  had  conversed 
on  approaching  events,  that  his  determination  was  fixed  to 
vote  for  Mr.  Adams,  if  the  final  contest  should  be  between 
Adams  and  Jackson.  He  had  declared  this  at  home ;  he  had 
declared  it  on  his  way  to  Washington ;  and  he  had  declared 
it,  though  not  obtrusively,  after  his  arrival.  He  had  said  that 
he  could  be  induced  to  vote  for  Jackson  by  no  consideration 
short  of  an  actual  and  unavoidable  necessity.  That  Mr. 
Clay  had  made  these  declarations,  not  once,  or  twice,  but 
undisguisedly,  on  all  proper  occasions,  has  been  shown  by 
the  testimony  of  Lafayette,  and  many  of  the  best  and  greatest 
men  in  our  own  country  ;  and,  amid  all  the  partisan  false- 
hoods and  calumnies  of  the  times,  not  an  individual  has 
been  found  so  audacious  as  to  say,  that  he  ever  heard  Mr. 
Clay  intimate  a  possibility  of  his  supporting  General  Jack- 
son for  the  chief  magistracy  in  any  contingency. 

General  Jackson  himself  did  not  anticipate  Mr.  Clay's 
support.  General  Call,  who  travelled  with  Jackson  to 
Washington  in  the  autumn  of  1824,  and  who,  of  course, 
was  familiar  with  the  opinions  of  his  companion  in  rela- 
tion to  the  engrossing  topick  of  the  day,  publickly  de- 
clared, on  the  journey,  that  "Jackson's  friends  did  not  ex- 
pect Mr.  Clay  to  vote  for  him,  and,  if  he  did  so,  it  would 
be  an  act  of  duplicity." 

Mr.  Clay's  reasons  for  not  choosing  to  support  General 
Jackson  for  the  presidency  are  obvious.  He  could  not  do 
it,  without  incurring  the  censure  of  the  country,  and  the 
rebuke  of  his  own  conscience.  He  knew  that  Jackson,  al- 
though a  successful  general,  possessed  so  few  of  the  qua- 
lifications of  a  civilian,  that  he  had  resigned  several  second- 
ary state  offices,  assigning  as  a  reason,  his  incompetency 
to  discharge  their  duties.  He  knew  that  JeCckson,  even  in 
his  military  capacity,  had  repeatedly  broken  that  consti- 
20* 


234  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

tution,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  the  American  people  to 
guard  with  their  lives.  With  an  eloquence,  that  will 
kindle  a  flame  in  the  hearts  of  posterity,  he  had  endea- 
voured to  bring  the  hero  to  justice  for  his  conduct  in  the 
Seminole  war.  He  had  charged  him  with  having  viola- 
ted the  common  law  of  the  land,  and  the  common  law 
of  humanity,  in  the  murder  of  Indian  prisoners;  with 
having  spurned  his  own  court  martial  under  foot,  and  out- 
raged its  authority;  with  having  usurped  the  war-making 
power  of  congress,  and,  in  reckless  defiance  of  governmental 
orders,  sacked  the  fortresses  of  the  Spanish  king ;  before 
the  nation  he  had  charged  him  with  all  these  things,  and 
predicted,  that,  if  the  offender  was  suffered  to  pass  uncen- 
sured,  the  example  might  be  the  first  in  a  train  of  events, 
which  would  leave  the  spots  of  death  upon  our  infant  re- 
publick.  With  what  overwhelming  force  would  not  the 
enemies  of  Mr.  Clay  have  been  able  to  assail  him,  if,  after 
expressing  such  opinions  of  the  conduct  and  deserts  of 
General  Jackson,  he  had  given  him  his  vote  for  the  presi- 
dency of  the  United  States  ! 

Probably  Mr.  Clay  had  not  yet  forgotten — what  many 
others  still  remember — that,  when  General  Jackson  was 
announced  to  the  American  people  as  a  candidate  for  the 
presidency,  the  nomination  was  universally  considered  too 
absurd  to  have  been  made  in  good  faith.  A  proposition  to 
send  out  our  veneruble  chief  justice  and  his  associates  on 
the  bench,  as  commodore  and  captains  of  a  Mediterranean 
squadron,  could  not  have  been  regarded  as  more  fantastical. 
The  impression  soon  became  general,  that  Jackson  had 
been  put  forward  for  the  single  purpose  of  dividing  the 
West,  and  thereby  defeating  the  election  of  Mr.  Clay. 
Mr.  C.'s  friends,  at  the  present  day,  have  no  doubt  of  the 
fact. 

As  for  Mr.  Adams,  Mr.  C.  knew,  from  having  been  often 


HENRY    CLAY.  233 

associated  with  him  in  the  most  important  of  our  national 
transactions  at  home  and  abroad,  that  he  was  a  civilian 
of  powerful  intellect ;  of  strong  and  dispassionate  judge- 
ment ;  and  of  almost  unexampled  learning  and  experience 
in  the  policy  and  laws  of  the  United  States.  He  knew 
that  Mr.  Adams,  more  than  any  other  man,  was  familiar 
with  the  origin,  progress,  and  condition  of  our  negotiations 
with  foreign  powers.  It  is  true,  that,  during  the  dis- 
cussions at  Ghent,  Messrs.  Clay  and  Adams  had  enter- 
tained a  difference  of  opinion  upon  a  single  question  of  ex- 
pediency j  but  there  could  surely  be  no  reason  why  Mr. 
Clay,  from  so  trivial  a  consideration,  should  forever  re- 
nounce all  political  fellowship  with  his  illustrious  oppo- 
nent, and  deem  him  equally  censurable  with  a  man,  who 
had  walked  over  laws  and  constitutions,  as  if  they  had 
been  "but  dust  beneath  his  sandals." 

Another  reason  for  Mr.  Clay's  preference  of  Mr.  Adams 
has  always  struck  us  with  peculiar  force.  Mr.  C.  had 
been  labouring,  during  the  best  years  of  his  life,  to  establish 
the  systems  of  Internal  Improvement  and  American  indus- 
try ;  and  now  he  had  just  succeeded  in  placing  them  both 
upon  firm  foundations.  It  was  his  duty  and  his  wish  to 
guard  them.  How  was  this  to  be  done  ?  Not  by  the  ele- 
vation of  a  man  to  the  chief  magistracy,  who  would  wield 
against  them  the  whole  vast  power  of  his  office.  Mr. 
Clay  believed  Mr.  Adams  to  be  a  friend  to  these  systems  ; 
and  knew  that,  from  his  local  situation  in  the  country,  he 
would  be  under  the  necessity  of  supporting  them.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  believed  Mr.  Crawford  and  General  Jack- 
son to  be  enemies  to  those  systems ;  and  knew  that,  from 
their  local  situations,  they  would  be  forced  to  oppose  them. 
What,  then,  was  the  course  required  of  him  I  To  prefer 
men  to  principles  ?  To  prostrate  the  stupendous  work  of 
years  by  a  single  act  of  infatuation  ?  To  offer  up  the  glory 


236  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

of  his  life — upon  the  low  altar  of  a  partisan  preference7 
No,  no — this  was  not  the  duty  of  Henry  Clay. 

When  the  day  of  trial  arrived,  Mr.  C.  gave-  his  vote  (7) 
for  Mr.  Adams,  and  the  latter  became  president.  In  the 
appointment  of  a  secretary  of  state,  Mr.  A.  could  have  no- 
hesitation.  Mr.  Clay  was  the  one  prominent  man.  Had 
the  question  been  referred  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  they  would  have  appointed  him,  as  with  one  voice. 
He  preferred  his  place  as  speaker  of  the  house  of  represent- 
atives, and  would  not  have  accepted  the  secretaryship,  had 
he  not  been  previously  instrumental  in  Mr.  Adams's  elec- 
tion. He  did  not  think  it  proper,  after  having  assisted  in 
elevating  a  man  to  the  presidency,  to  withhold  his  own 
aid  from  the  administration  of  the  government. 

For  some  time  it  seemed  as  if  partisan  vengeance  would 
soon  consent  to  desist  from  the  pursuit  of  Mr.  Clay  ;  but 
a  distinguished  accuser  at  length  appeared  against  him. 
It  was  General  Jackson.  This  gentleman  began  to  assert 
in  private  circles,  that  he  himself  might  probably  have  been 
president,  had  he  but  offered  Mr.  Clay  the  secretaryship. 
It  seems  strange,,  that  the  rage  and  mortification  of  politi- 
cal discomfiture  could  inspire,  even  in  a  mind  enfeebled  by 
age  and  perverted  by  long-cherished  passions,  an  idea  so 
utterly  preposterous.  Mr.  Clay  had,  long  before,  declined 
the  voluntary  offer  of  a  place  in  the  cabinet  of  the  illus- 
trious Madison  ;  he  had  declined  the  same  offer  under  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Monroe,  who  had  also  tendered  him 
the  mission  to  England,  or  any  other  foreign  mission  he 
might  prefer ;  and  it  would  have  been  strange,  indeed,  if, 
after  all  this,  he  had  felt  a  longing  to  sell  his  integrity,  his 
soul,  and  his  country,  for  a  place  in  the  cabinet  of  Jack- 
son. There  was  never  a  paradox  in  the  whole  range  of 

(7)  Soc  Appendix. 


HENRY   CLAY.  237 

moral,  physical,  and  intellectual  science — never  a  fantasy 
in  the  feeblest  dreams  of  a  sick  man — more  inexpressibly 
absurd,  than  the  supposition  of  such  a  fact.  There 
was,  at  that  day,  no  publick  officer  in  America,  upon 
whom  Henry  Clay  could  not  look  down  from  his 
own  proud  eminence  |  and  sorry  we  were  to  hear 
him  charged  with  an  attempt  to  bargain  for  the  privi- 
lege of  descending  into  a  secretaryship  under  Andrew 
Jackson. 

Not  satisfied  with  private  hints  and  declarations,  Mr. 
Clay's  distinguished  accuser  finally  stated,  in  a  publick 
letter,  that  overtures  of  bargain  had  been  made  to  him, 
during  the  pendency  of  the  presidential  election  in  the 
house  of  representatives,  by  the  friends  of  Mr.  Clay.  With 
his  usual  promptitude  of  character,  Mr.  Clay  demanded 
through  whom  those  overtures  had  been  made.  In  reply, 
General  Jackson  gave  up  the  name  of  Mr.  James  Bu- 
chanan, one  of  his  own  personal  and  political  friends.  Mr. 
Buchanan,  however,  was  an  honourable  man,  and  hesita- 
ted not  to  say  publickly,  that  he  had  never  made  to  Gene- 
ral Jackson  the  overtures  in  question,  or  any  that  bore  the 
least  resemblance  to  them.  The  principal  accuser  was 
now  silent ;  but  his  partisans  stopped  their  ears  and  shut 
their  eyes  to  the  proofs  of  Mr.  Clay's  innocence,  and 
cried — "  away  with  him  !"  "  away  with  him  I" 

In  January,  1828,  Mr.  C.  made  his  final  appeal  to  the 
publick.  He  issued  a  pamphlet,  wherein  he  had  brought 
forward,  in  one  powerful  array,  the  testimony  of  the  west- 
ern delegation  of  1825,  for  the  vindication  of  his  own 
character,  and  the  refutation  of  the  charges  of  Gener&l 
Jackson  and  his  other  enemies.  The  whole  delegation 
testified,  that  Mr.  Clay  had  never  attempted  to  influence 
their  votes,  and  that  they  had  never  heard  him  express, 
and  had  never  themselvea  expressed^  a  willingaess  to  vote 


238  BIOGRAPHY   OP 

for  General  Jackson  upon  any  conditions,  which  it  was 
in  the  power  of  earthly  greatness  to  offer.  There  was 
never  a  publication  more  conclusive  and  triumphant  than 
this  pamphlet  of  Mr.  Clay.  The  following  are  his  closing 
remarks.  "  I  make  no  appeal  to  publick  sympathy.  I  in- 
voke only  stern  justice.  If  truth  has  not  lost  its  force, 
reason  its  sway,  and  the  fountains  of  justice  their  purity, 
the  decision  must  be  auspicious.  With  a  firm  reliance 
upon  the  enlightened  judgement  of  the  publick,  and  con- 
scious of  the  zeal  and  uprightness  with  which  I  have  ex- 
ecuted every  trust  committed  to  my  care,  I  await  the 
event  without  alarm  or  apprehension.  Whatever  it 
may  be,  my  anxious  hopes  will  continue  for  the 
success  of  the  great  cause  of  human  liberty,  and  of 
those  high  interests  of  national  policy,  to  the  promotion  of 
which,  the  best  exertions  of  my  life  have  been  faithfully 
dedicated.  And  my  humble  but  earnest  prayers  will  be 
unremitted,  that  all  clanger  may  be  averted  from  our  com- 
mon country  ;  and  especially,  that  our  union,  our  liberty, 
and  our  institutions,  may  long  survive,  a  cheering  excep- 
tion from  the  operations  of  that  fatal  decree,  which  the 
voice  of  all  history  has  hitherto  uniformly  proclaimed." 

It  gives  us  pleasure  to  know,  that  the  auspicious  de- 
cision, anticipated  by  Mr.  Clay,  has  been  pronounced  by 
the  publick.  The  story  of  bargain  has  now  died  awav, 
and  is  one  of  those  reminiscences  of  a  former  period,  which 
are  called  to  mind  by  respectable  men,  only  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  enormities  to  which  an  intemperate  excitement 
may  give  a  partial  and  temporary  prevalence.  In  this 
case,  the  triumph  of  truth  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  to 
the  American  people ;  but  there  is  much  to  shadow  the 
brightness  of  their  joy.  It  is  indeed  a  dark  and  fearful 
thought,  that  such  a  man  as  Henry  Clay — one  who,  from 
his  earliest  manhood,  has  devoted  himself  to  his  country^ 


HENRY   CLAY.  239 

stood  by  her  in  all  her  trials,  shrunk  from  the  honours 
and  rewards  that  were  yearly  clustering  around  him  as 
the  desert  of  his  toil,  and  poured  forth  his  sublime  orisons 
to  Liberty,  till  the  republicks  of  the  South  and  the  isles  of 
the  jEgean  caught  up  the  sound  and  shouted  aloud  for 
joy — ay,  it  is  a  very  fearful  thought,  that  such  a  man,  in 
a  land  like  this,  can  be  so  powerfully  assailed  with  absurd 
and  unsupported  calumnies,  as  to  find  it  necessary  to  strug- 
gle against  them,  year  after  year,  lest  his  usefulness,  his 
peace,  his  name,  his  very  life,  should  be  "  lied  away." 
Such  an  incident  learns  us  not  to  wonder,  that  even  the 
prophets  were  stoned,  and  a  greater  than  the  prophets 
condemned  as  a  malefactor.  In  a  country,  where  truth  and 
justice  are  the  living  soul  of  liberty,  an  event  like  this 
should  be  looked  upon  as  a  deep  warning  of  the  necessity 
of  vigilance.  Our  morning  is  yet  bright ;  but,  if  a  dark 
cloud  has  already  passed  between  us  and  Heaven,  it  should 
admonish  us,  that  the  storm  may  yet  burst  above  us  in  all 
its  wildness. 


240  BIOGRAPHY  OF 


PART  FOURTH. 


SECTION  FIRST. 

MR.  ADAMS  commenced  the  duties  of  the  presidency, 
and  Mr.  Clay  those  of  the  secretaryship,  in  March,  1825. 
The  vindication  of  the  measures  of  the  government  be- 
tween the  years  1825  and  1829  belongs  more  properly  to 
the  biographer  of  Mr.  Adams  than  of  Mr.  Clay.  It  is  within 
our  province,  however,  to  say,  that  the  confidence  in  Mr.  Ad- 
ams, which  Mr.  C.  evinced  by  his  vote  of  February,  1825, 
was  not  misplaced.  The  time  has  not  yet  come,  for  a  calm 
and  dispassionate  judgement  to  be  passed  upon  the  acts  of 
the  last  administration  ;  but,  in  the  order  of  things,  it  must 
come,  and  we  believe  it  is  not  far  distant.  Mr.  Adams,  it 
is  true,  was  not  re-elected  by  the  people  to  the  presidency. 
He  is  not  the  first  great  and  good  man,  who  has  been  dis- 
carded for  his  very  virtues  by  a  misguided  populace.  Hu- 
man nature  is  the  same  now  as  when  the  ancient  re- 
publicks  were  in  their  strength ;  and,  in  those  days,  some 
of  the  greatest  patriots  were  hunted  into  exile,  while  the 
votaries  of  tyranny  and  blood,  whose  very  paths  had  been 
paved  with  human  skulls,  received  the  adulations  of  the 
multitude.  To  those  men  of  the  olden  time,  posterity  has 
already  done  justice.  The  name  of  the  persecuted  patriot 
touches  our  love  and  veneration,  while  the  memory  of  the 
successful  tyrant  is  "  broadening,  deepening,  blackening, 
in  one  eternal  progress  of  infamy."  Thus  it  must  al- 


HENRY   CLAY.  241 

ways  be.  Justice  may  sometimes  come  too  late  to  benefit 
the  living  martyr ;  but,  even  then,  it  will  hover  as  a  glory 
over  his  tomb.  There  is  a  "remorse  of  love,"  which 
wronged  virtue  must  sooner  or  later  awaken.  It  is  on 
such  grounds,  that  Mr.  Adams  may  expect  justice — if  not 
from  the  present  generation,  at  least  from  posterity. 
When  the  spirit  of  faction  shall  have  spent  its  strength 
and  died — when  the  flood  of  calumny,  which,  like  the 
stream  from  the  mouth  of  the  Apocalyptick  Dragon,  has 
overspread  the  land  with  its  pestilential  tide,  shall  have 
passed  off  in  to  the  Dead  Sea  of  common  oblivion,  the  vir- 
tue of  the  last  administration  will  be  remembered,  and  will 
glow,  undimrned  over  the  waste  of  after  corruption,  like 
"night's  diamond  star"  above  the  dark  outline  of  a  sky 
of  storm. 

In  no  one  of  the  executive  departments  are  the  labours 
of  the  chief  so  great  as  in  that  of  the  department  of 
state.  Every  instruction,  every  despatch,  every  diplo- 
matick  note,  transmitted  to  the  numerous  American  mis- 
sions abroad,  or  the  foreign  ministers  at  Washington,  must 
be  prepared  by  the  state  secretary.  The  labours  of  the 
office  had  greatly  increased,  when  Mr.  Cky  entered  it,  by 
the  multiplication  of  our  foreign  missions,  and  the  increase 
of  the  diplomatick  corps  at  Washington.  From  the  un- 
fortunate state  of  parties  throughout  the  whole  course  of 
Mr.  Adams's  administration,  it  was  impracticable  to  obtain 
that  aid,  repeatedly  solicited,  which  has  been  accorded  to 
Mr.  Clay's  successor.  Mr.  C.'s  health  too  was  delicate 
and  infirm  during  the  whole  period  of  his  secretaryship,  in- 
somuch that,  in  the  spring  of  1828,  he  had  resolved  to  re. 
tire"  from  office,  and  stated  his  resolution  to  Mr.  Adams. 
Under  these  circumstances,  it  was  astonishing  that  he  was 
able  to  accomplish  the  vast  amount  of  business  that  de- 
volved on  him. 

21 


242  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

The  following  testimonial  of  Mr.  Clay's  fidelity  and 
ability  in  office,  we  received,  a  few  days  since,  from  Mr". 
Adams.  Mr.  A.'s  eulogies  wear  well,  for  they  are  never 
thoughtlessly  bestowed : 

"  Q.UINCY,  19th  Oct.  1830. 
"GEORGE  D.  PRENTICE,  ESQ..  Lexington,  Ky. : 

"  Sir  :  The  opinion,  that  I  entertained  of  the  talents  and 
services  of  Mr.  Clay,  was  TS^iiifopted  to  the  world  by  the 
nomination  of  him,  as  secretaW^f  state.  It  had  already 
been  made  known  to  him,  at  me  time  of  his  retirement 
from  congress,  in  1820.  I  then  informed  him,  that,  in  the 
event  of  a  vacancy  in  the  mission  to  Great  Britain,  I  should 
deem  it  my  duty  to  recommend  to  the  then  president,  the 
nomination  of  him  to  that  office,  if  it  would  be  acceptable 
to  him. 

"  Immediately  after  the  close  of  my  administration,  an 
address  was  transmitted  to  me  by  certain  citizens  of  New 
Jersey,  to  which  I  returned  forthwith  an  answer.  (8)  In 
that  paper,  I  assigned  the  motives  which  had  induced  me 
to  nominate  Mr.  Clay  to  the  office  of  secretary  of  state. 
It  was  published  in  many  of  the  newspapers,  and  remains 
a  testimonial  from  me  to  Mr.  Clay,  to  which  I  could  now 
add,  and  from  which  I  could  deduct  nothing.  With  Mr. 
Clay's  administration  of  the  department  of  state,  I  was 
entirely  satisfied.  The  composition  of  all  his  official  pa- 
pers was  creditable  to  the  country.  Through  the  whole 
course  of  the  administration,  I  recollect  but  one  act  of  his, 
which  I  disapproved  and  lamented.  (9)  I  hope  and  be- 
lieve he  did  the  same.  The  despatch  and  facility  with 
which  he  transacted  business,  was  the  more  remarkable, 
by  the  infirm  state  of  his  health  during  the  whole  term ; 

(8)  (9)  See  Appendix. 


HENRY    CLAY.  243 

from  which,  I  have  learned,  with  great  pleasure,  that  he 
has  now  recovered. 

"  I  am,  very  respectfully,  sir,  your  obed't  serv't, 

"J.  a  ADAMS." 

To  this  testimonial  of  Mr.  Adams  in  favour  of  Mr.  Clay, 
we  are  happy  in  being  able  to  add  the  following  eloquent 
tribute  from  Mr.  Rush,  the  late  distinguished  secretary  of 
the  treasury.  As  a  great  part  of  it  relates  to  Mr.  C.'s  ad- 
ministration of  the  affairs  of  state,  it  may  be  considered  ap- 
propriate in  this  place. 

"YORK,  Penn.  August  24th,  1830. 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  I  very  much  regret  that  it  is  out  of  my 
power  to  lend  any  essential  aid  to  your  important  work, 
though  I  shall  take  an  interest  in  its  success.  I  know,  in 
truth,  little,  if  any  thing,  of  Mr.  Clays  life,  that  is  not 
known  to  us  all.  He  has  been  so  long  and  so  conspicu- 
ously before  the  publick,  that  his  name  has  become  iden- 
tified with  the  most  important  measures  of  the  country,  for 
the  last  twenty  years,  whether  originating  in  its  legisla- 
tive councils,  or  depending  upon  its  executive  acts.  I 
well  remember,  that,  during  the  war  of  1812,  having  my- 
self had  a  share  in  the  administration  of  Mr.  Madison  du- 
ring that  war,  though  only  in  an  humble  way,  we  con- 
sidered Mr.  Clay  as  the  great  prop  of  the  publick  cause  in 
congress.  However  eminent  and  useful  others  might  have 
been,  he  stood  foremost  in  ardour,  in  eloquence,  in  power  to 
achieve  the  great  ends,  which  the  exigencies  of  that  period 
demanded.  This,  of  itself,  is  no  light  praise,  when  that 
body  contained  such  men  as  Lowndes,  Cheves,  and  Cal- 
houn,  besides  others  of  scarcely  inferior  renown. 

"  I  first  became  intimately  associated  in  political  and  per- 
sonal intercourse  with  Mr.  Clay  in  1825,  when  he  assumed 
the  duties  of  the  department  of  state.  ISp  to  that  period,  I 
must  own,  that,  highly  as  I,  in  common  with  others,  rated 


» 


BIOGRAPHY    OP 


him  as  a  publick  speaker,  as  well  as  for  those  other  com- 
manding qualities  of  the  mind,  that  fit  men  to  take  the  lead 
in  the  business  of  legislative  assemblies,  I  was  not  sure,  that 
he  would  display  equal  abilities  in  the  new  field  to  which  he 
was  called.  Nevetheless,  it  soon  appeared  to  me  that  he  wa& 
alike  pre-eminent  in  that  field.  It  appeared  to  me,  that  he 
was  as  deliberate,  as  sagacious,  as  instructive,  in  council,  as 
he  had  always  shown  himself  vehement,  fervid,  and  efficient 
in  debate]  perfectly  master  of  all  the  great  interests  of  the  na- 
tion at  home  and  abroad,  and  pursuing  them  with  earnest- 
ness and  zeal,  yet  with  candour;  always  explaining  his 
own  open  views  upon  whatever  subjects  might  engage 
the  deliberations  of  the  executive,  with  a  clear,  prompt,  and 
comprehensive  intelligence,  yet  ready  to  listen  to  the 
opinions  of  others ;  ready,  too,  always  to  modify  and  cor- 
rect his  own  opinions,  on  good  reason  appearing  for  it — for 
to  the  well-being  of  the  nation  did  he  always  look  with  an 
ardent  and  enlightened  patriotism ; — such,  in  a  word,  did 
Mr.  Clay  appear  to  me  in  the  cabinet ;  his  mind  and  his 
temper  exhibiting  the  highest  qualities  of  the  statesman, 
and  each  developing  new  excellence  as  you  came  to  sur 
vey  them  more  closely.  If  I  were  to  write  more  of  him, 
and  above  all,  if  I  were  to  go  into  any  estimate  of  the  ef- 
fect, which  I  believe  to  have  been  produced  upon  the  policy 
of  the  nation,  in  some  of  its  greatest  interests,  whether  do- 
mestick  or  foreign,  by  his  publick  exertions  and  services,  I 
should  run  into  disquisitions  that  would  encroach  upon 
your  province,  which  is  far  from  my  intention. 

"  It  would  be  no  very  quick  task  to  analyze  all  the  pro- 
perties of  Mr.  Clay's  rich  and  varied  genius.  Those,  who 
witness  only  the  lighter  charms  which  it  throws  off  in  the 
common  intercourse  of  society  and  conversation,  can 
scarcely  know  hojv  profound  and  accurate  are  its  opera- 
tions, when  it  comes*to  deal  with  publick  affairs,  however 


HENRY   CLAY.  246 

diversified  or  complicated  the  scale  on  which  they  may  be 
presented  to  him. 

"  I  remain,  dear  sir,  with  great  respect, 

"Your  obed't  serv't, 
"RICHARD  RUSH." 

"GEO.  D.  PRENTICE,  ESQ." 

It  may  be  safely  asserted,  that,  at  no  period  has  the  di- 
plomacy of  the  United  States  commanded  more  respect 
and  consideration  with  foreign  powers,  than  during  the 
late  administration  of  Mr.  Adams.     Mr.  Clay's  intercourse 
with  the   foreign  ministers,  who  were   accredited  to  •  our 
government,  was  free,  frank,  and  liberal.     No  unnecessary 
forms  were  imposed  on  their  access  to  the  department  of 
state,  where  they   usually  found   him,   in  official  hours, 
ready,  without  ceremony,  to  receive  any  proposition,  and 
transact  any  business  with  them.     No  serious  misunder- 
standing occurred  between  him  and  any  of  them,  whilst 
he  was  in  office.     When  he  parted  with  them,  more  than 
one  of  their  number  are  said  to  have  shed  tears ;  and  we 
know,  that  several  of  them  have  rendered  him,  in  his  re- 
tirement, strong  proofs  of  their  continued  respect  and  af- 
fection.    A  circumstance,  which  evinces  the  increased  re- 
spect entertained  for  the  United  States  by  foreign  nations, 
at  the  period  we  are  noticing,  and  which  may  well  be 
considered  flattering  to  our  national  pride,  is  the  number 
of  treaties  negotiated  by  Mr:  Clay  at  the  seat  of  the  gene- 
ral government.      This  number  is  greater  than  that  of  all 
which  had  ever  been  previously  concluded  there  from  the 
first  adoption  of  the  constitution.     Instead  of  our  sending 
ambassadors  abroad  to  solicit  from  foreign  powers,  at  their 
respective  courts,  the  formation  of  commercial  and  other 
treaties,  their  representatives  repaired  to  Washington  to 
obtain  the  benefit  of  these  national  engagements.     Thus 
Mr.  Clay  concluded  and  signed,  at  Washington,  treaties 
21* 


246  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

with  Central  America,  Prussia,  Denmark,  and  the  Hanse 
atick  republick,  and  an  arrangement  with  Russia  for  the 
settlement  of  claims  of  American  citizens.  He  also  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  Austria,  but  did  not  remain  in  office 
to  see  it  signed. 

These  treaties  relate  principally  to  commerce,  naviga- 
tion, and  neutral  rights,  and  display  the  spirit  of  unbounded 
liberality,  which  actuated  the  late  administration  and  Mr. 
Clay.  He  has  sometimes  been  accused  of  unfriendliness 
to  foreign  commerce.  His  attachment  to  the  protection 
of  American  industry  is  relied  upon  as  proof  of  such  a 
disposition.  Let  those  who,  from  this  cause,  have  imbibed 
a  prejudice  against  him,  attentively  examine  the  provi- 
sions of  the  above-mentioned  treaties.  There  is  a  simpli- 
city, a  justice,  in  his  principles  of  foreign  policy,  which, 
when  well  understood,  must  secure  universal  approbation. 
We  are  a  young  people.  We  commenced  our  career  in 
the  family  of  nations,  at  a  time  when  most  of  them,  owing 
to  the  colonial  system,  which  was  imposed  on  us  by  Great 
Britain,  had  advanced  far  beyond  us  in  the  arts  of  com- 
merce, navigation,  and  manufactures.  The  successful 
prosecution  of  all  these  arts,  Mr.  Clay  believes  to  be  essen- 
tial to  the  general  prosperity  of  the  country.  Commerce 
and  navigation  soon  obtained  and  long  enjoyed  the  fos- 
tering care  of  the  general  government,  and  their  strength 
and  stability  bear  testimony  to  the  wisdom  with  which 
that  care  was  applied.  Manufactures,  however,  were 
neglected,  until  after  the  conclusion  of  the  late  war  with 
Great  Britain.  Mr.  Clay  believed,  that  they  also  ought 
to  receive  encouragement  and  protection,  until  they  could 
sustain  an  equal  competition  with  foreign  manufactures ; 
and  hence  his  devotion  to  the  American  system. 

The  skill,  and  experience,  and  capital,  which  we  have 
acquired  in  commerce  and  navigation,  enable  us  success- 


HENRY  CLAY.  247 

fully  to  meet  the  enterprise  of  foreign  merchants  and  navi- 
gators in  any  market  and  on  every  sea,  where  terms  of 
fair  reciprocity  are  allowed.  In  respect  to  these  great  in- 
terests, we  have  come  up  to  foreign  powers,  and  conse- 
quently have  no  occasion  for  protecting  duties.  Accord- 
ingly, in  the  treaties  to  which  we  have  adverted,  it  will 
be  seen,  that  Mr.  Clay  contributed  to  remove  every  shackle, 
so  as  to  leave  the  most  perfect  freedom  to  commerce  and 
navigation.  Prior  to  their  negotiation,  the  principle  had 
been  adopted — and  it  was  first  adopted  in  the  London 
treaty  of  1815,  negotiated  by  Mr.  Adams,  Mr.  Clay,  and 
Mr.  Gallatin;  that  the  merchant  vessels  of  the  two  countries, 
with  their  cargoes,  should  be  received  into  each  other's 
ports  upon  a  footing  of  entire  equality,  those  of  the  one 
being  liable  to  no  higher  or  other  duties,  than  were  de- 
mandable  from  those  of  the  other.  But  this  principle  was 
subject  to  the  inconvenient  restriction,  that  the  vessels  of 
the  two  countries  could  only  import  the  productions  and 
manufactures  of  the  countries  themselves.  Thus,  a  British 
vessel  might  bring  into  an  American  port  any  article  of 
British  origin  on  the  same  terms  with  an  American  ves- 
sel, but  was  forbidden  to  bring  any  article  of  the  growth 
or  manufacture  of  any  other  country ;  and  an  American 
vessel,  in  turn,  was  under  a  similar  restriction  on  entering 
a  British  port.  The  treaties  with  Central  America  and 
the  other  powers,  mentioned  above,  have  abolished  this 
restriction  between  the  parties ;  and,  under  their  stipula- 
tions, whatever  a  native  vessel  can  import  or  export,  may, 
wit/tout  regard  to  the.  place  of  its  growth  or  manufacture, 
be  imported  or  exported  in  the  vessels  of  the  other  contract- 
ing party.  Mr.  Clay,  speaking  of  this  important  princi- 
ple in  one  of  the  most  important  of  his  state  papers,  justly 
observes,  "  its  reciprocity  is  perfect ;  and  when  it  comes  to 
be  adopted  by  all  nations,  we  can  scarcely  see  any  thing 


248  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

beyond  it  in  the  way  of  improvement  to  the  freedom  and 
interests  of  their  mutual  navigation.  The  devices  of  mari- 
time nations  have  been  various  to  augment  their  marine 
at  the  expense  of  other  powers.  When  there  has  been  a 
passive  acquiescence  in  the  operation  of  these  devices, 
without  any  resort  to  countervailing  regulation,  their  suc- 
cess has  been  sometimes  very  great.  But  nations  are  now 
too  enlightened  to  submit  quietly  to  the  selfish  efforts  of 
any  one  power  to  engross,  by  its  own  separate  legislation, 
a  disproportionate  share  of  navigation  in  their  mutual  in- 
tercourse. These  efforts  are  now  met  by  opposite  efforts ; 
restriction  begets  restriction,  until  the  discovery  is  at  last 
made,  after  a  long  train  of  vexatious  and  irritating  acts 
and  manoeuvres,  on  both  sides,  that  the  course  of  selfish 
legislation  ultimately  does  not  effect  the  distribution  of 
maritime  power,  whilst  it  is  attended  with  the  certain  evil 
of  putting  nations  into  an  ill-humour  with  each  other. 
Experience,  at  last,  teaches  that,  in  every  view,  it  is  better 
to  begin  and  continue  in  the  career  of  liberality."  These 
liberal,  lucid,  and  powerful  views,  could  not  induce  Great 
Britain,  with  all  her  boasted  attachment  to  the  freedom  of 
trade,  to  accede  to  the  principle  which  they  illustrate. 
When  Mr.  Gallatin,  in  conformity  with  instructions  from 
Mr.  Clay,  proposed  it,  she  declined  its  acceptance. 

While  speaking  of  the  maritime  regulations  between 
this  country  and  Great  Britain,  the  occasion  seems  to  be  a 
suitable  one  for  saying  a  few  words  on  the  so  much  bruited 
subject  of  the  West  India  trade,  which  the  late  adminis- 
tration is  charged  by  a  certain  party  with  having  unne- 
cessarily and  wantonly  sacrificed.  Never  was  the  un- 
scrupulous spirit  of  party  guilty  of  a  clamour  more  unjus- 
tifiable than  that  with  which  Mr.  Clay,  and  t&ie  other  late 
officers  of  the  general  government,  were  assailed,  in  relation 


HENRY    CLAY.  249 

to  this  trade.     This,   we  think,  will  sufficiently  appear 
from  the  following  true  account  of  the  matter. 

A  negotiation  at  London  had  been  pending  between 
Mr.  Rush  and  the  British  government,  in  respect  to  the 
West  India  trade,  and  other  subjects.  It  was  suspended 
in  1824,  with  a  mutual  understanding,  that  it  should  be 
resumed  at  some  future  but  indefinite  period.  Mr.  Rush 
was  summoned  home  to  take  charge  of  the  treasury  de- 
partment;  and  Mr.  Rufus  King  succeeded  him  in  1825. 
During  his  voyage  to  England,  Mr.  K.  was  attacked  by  a 
disease,  which  continued  to  grow  worse  and  worse,  until 
his  return  the  next  year  to  America,  and  finally  produced 
his  death.  When  he  arrived  in  England,  the  king  was 
ill ;  Mr.  Canning,  the  prime  minister,  was  ill ;  and  the 
other  principal  members  of  the  cabinet  were  either  on  the 
continent  or  dispersed  over  the  kingdom.  It  may  be  truly 
affirmed,  therefore,  that  neither  party  was  in  a  condition 
to  treat  during  the  year  1825.  Meantime,  and  before  Mr. 
King's  arrival  at  London,  an  act  of  parliament  passed  in 
general  terms  to  regulate  the  British  West-India  trade. 
This  act  was  not  communicated  to  Mr.  King  or  to  the 
American  government ;  nor  was  the  slightest  intimation 
given  or  to  be  gathered  from  the  terms  of  the  act  itself, 
that  it  was  intended  to  have  any  bearing  whatever  on  the 
suspended  negotiation.  The  provisions  themselves  of  the 
act  were  vague  and  indefinite.  If  expounded  according 
to  their  obvious  import,  they  required  conditions  that  were 
altogether  inadmissible.  Thus,  as  a  condition  of  any 
country's  being  entitled  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  West  In- 
dia trade,  under  the  act,  Great  Britain  demanded  to 
be  placed,  in  respect  to  that  country,  on  the  footing  of  the 
most  favoured  nation.  Now  Guatemala  or  Central  Ameri- 
ca was,  at  that  time,  the  country  most  favoured  in  the 
United  States.  In  consequence  of  the  treaty  already  no- 


250  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

ticed  as  having  been  concluded  at  Washington  between 
Guatemala  and  our  government,  she  was  at  liberty  to  im- 
port into  the  United  States  the  productions  of  any  part  of 
the  world  on  the  same  footing  with  our  own  vessels.  To 
have  allowed  this  privilege  to  Great  Britain  without  her 
allowing  a  corresponding  privilege  to  us,  which  by  the  act 
of  parliament  she  did  not  do,  and  which  she  subsequently 
declared,  that  she  was  not  willing  to  do,  would  have  pros- 
trated our  navigation,  and  secured  to  hers  a  monopoly  of 
the  carrying  trade  between  her  ports  and  this  country. 

Not  only  was  no  communication  made,  by  the  British 
minister  at  Washington,  of  the  act  of  parliament;  but, 
when  he  was  interrogated  by  Mr.  Clay,  it  was  found,  that 
he  had  no  instructions  to  explain  the  ambiguities  of  the 
act,  or  even  to  say,  whether  it  was  intended  to  apply  to  the 
United  States  or  not.  As  late  af  March,  1826,  he  invited 
the  American  government  to  the  renewal  of  the  suspended 
negotiation,  without  the  slightest  suggestion,  that  the 
West  India  trade  was  to  be  considered  as  withdrawn  from 
it.  The  president  promptly  sent  out  Mr.  Gallatin,  charged 
with  full  powers  and  instructions  to  renew  the  suspended 
negotiation,  embracing  all  the  original  subjects  of  it,  and 
the  West  India  trade,  of  course,  among  others.  The  se- 
quel is  well  known.  Upon  opening  his  credentials,  he  was 
not  only  informed,  that  the  British  government  would  not 
treat  of  that  trade,  but  tauntingly  told,  that  to  admit  the 
United  States  to  its  participation  on  any  terms  was  a  boon, 
and,  that  as  we  had  not  brought  ourselves  within  the  pro- 
visions of  the  act  of  parliament,  we  should  be  excluded 
from  the  trade.  Upon  Mr.  Gallatin's  reminding  the  Bri- 
tish government,  that  the  subject  in  question  was  equally 
included  with  others  in  the  suspended  negotiation ;  that 
the  invitation,  given  by  the  British  minister  at  Washing- 
ton, applied  to  the  whole ;  and,  that  the  act  of  parliament 


HENRY  CLAY.  251 

had  never  been  officially  communicated,  at  London  or  at 
Washington,  to  the  American  government,  he  was  further 
given  to  understand,  that  the  United  States  were  bound  to 
know  and  to  take  notice  of  the  acts  of  parliament !  A  more 
affrontive  suggestion,  or  a  manifestation  of  worse  faith,  has 
seldom  been  heard  of  in  the  diplomacy  of  any  nation. 

The  consequence  was  a  mutual  prohibition  of  all  direct 
intercourse  in  British  or  American  vessels  between  the 
United  States  and  the  West  India  ports  of  Great  Britain. 
This  state  of  things  was  not  injurious  to  the  commerce  or 
navigation  of  the  United  States.  The  prohibited  trade 
was  .still  carried  on  circuitously  through  intermediate 
ports  in  the  neighbourhood  of  those  of  Britain,  and  the 
American  navigation  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  the  transpor- 
tation to  those  intermediate  ports. 

Since  our  present  administration  came  into  power,  an 
arrangement  has  been  made  between  the  two  governments, 
by  which  the  enactments  of  the  British  law  of  parlia- 
ment are  extended  to  the  United  States.  On  what  terms, 
and  in  what  manner,  this  has  been  effected,  will  be  seen, 
should  the  correspondence  ever  be  published.  The  ar- 
rangement may  be  terminated  at  any  moment  by  the  will 
of  either  party.  Mr.  Clay  and  the  late  administration 
proposed  an  arrangement  by  treaty,  as  being  more  obliga- 
tory and  more  durable.  They  preferred  it,  because  too 
they  hoped  to  be  able  to  place  the  vessels  of  the  two  coun- 
tries in  a  condition  of  exact  equality.  By  the  late  arrange- 
ment this  was  not  done;  for  a  British  vessel  enjoys  exclu- 
sively the  benefit  of  a  circuitous  voyage  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  by  the  way  of  the  West  In- 
dies, there  taking  in  fresh  cargo,  or  discharging  the  whole 
or  a  part  of  her  previous  cargo.  It  is  doubtful,  whether 
an  American  vessel  can  successfully  compete  with  a  Bri- 
tish vessel  having  that  great  advantage ;  and,  if  it  cannot, 


252  BIOGRAPHY   OP 

our  navigation  will  b.e  injuriously  affected,  not  merely  in 
the  trade  with  the  British  West  India  islands,  but  in  that  ' 
also  with  the  parent  country. 

We  have  heard,  that,  during  Mr.  Clay's  administration 
of  the  secretaryship,  whenever  it  became  his  duty  to  give 
instructions  to  one  of  our  ministers,  or  to  prepare  a  despatch, 
he  first  examined  the  subject  thoroughly,  and  perused  at- 
tentively whatever  documents  were  on  file  in  relation  to 
it,  and  then  framed  the  paper  according  to  his  own  con- 
ceptions of  what  belonged  to  the  case,  and  submitted  the 
draft  to  the  inspection  of  the  president.  Mr.  Adams  often 
expressed  his  surprise  at  the  extreme  correctness  and 
unexampled  facility,  with  which  all  Mr.  C.'s,  state  papers 
were  prepared.  It  was  a  very  unusual  thing  for  any  of 
them  to  undergo  an  alteration,  even  in  the  most  trifling 
particular. 

Sometimes  it  became  the  unpleasant  duty  of  Mr.  Clay 
to  reprove  our  foreign  agents.  A  remarkable  instance  of 
this  kind  happened  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Raguet,  our  charge 
d'affaires  at  the  court  of  the  Brazils.  That  gentleman, 
probably  with  the  best  intentions,  had  adopted  toward  the 
court  a  system  of  menace  and  intimidation,  which  ren- 
dered him  extremely  unpopular,  and  brought  our  affairs 
into  the  most  embarrassed  condition  at  Rio  de  Janeiro. 
He  had  allowed  himself  to  use  harsh  and  unbecoming 
language  to  an  officer  of  the  Brazilian  government,  and 
that  in  relation  to  the  concerns  of  foreign  powers,  and  not 
of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Clay's  reproof  is  expressed  so 
as  to  wound  his  feelings  as  little  as  possible,  whilst,  at  the 
same  time,  it  conveys,  clearly  and  decisively,  the  disap- 
probation of  the  government.  It  points  out  the  duty  of  a 
foreign  minister  so  appropriately,  and  so  forcibly,  that  its 
precepts  should  be  treasured  up  by  every  one,  who  is  sent 
abroad.  We  regret  that  we  are  not,  at  this  moment,  able 


HENRY   CLAY.  253 

lo  find  the  document,  and  to  offer  our  readers  an  abstract 

of  it. 

The  advantages  of  a  course  of  respect,  mildness,  and 
conciliation,  directly  opposed  to  that  which  had  been  pur- 
sued by  Mr.  Raguet,  were  demonstrated  in  the  conduct  of 
his  successor,  Mr.  Tudor,  who  was  highly  esteemed  by 
Mr.  Clay.  In  a  few  months,  he  won  the  regard  of  the 
Brazilian  emperor  and  his  ministers,  disentangled  our 
affairs,  procured  the  settlement  of  private  claims  of  our 
citizens  to  a  large  amount,  which  Mr.  Raguet  had  in  vain 
been  soliciting  for  years,  and  negotiated  a  very  advan- 
tageous commercial  treaty. 

22 


254  BIOGRAPHY  OF 


SECTION  SECOND. 

Almost  as  soon  as  Mr.  Clay  assumed  the  duties  of  the. 
secretaryship,  he  turned  his  thoughts  earnestly  to  the  con- 
templation of  a  subject,  in  which  he  had  never  ceased  to 
feel  an  interest — the  cause  of  human  liberty  throughout 
the  world.  He  had  failed,  when  in  congress,  to  procure, 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  the  recognition  of  Gre- 
cian independence ;  but  he  was  now  placed  in  a  situation 
more  favourable  to  the  exercise  of  governmental  influence. 
From  time  to  time,  he  suggested  the  subject  to  the  consi- 
deration of  the  president,  and,  without  much  difficulty,  ef- 
fected his  favourite  design.  A  minister  was  sent  out  by 
our  government  to  Greece :  and  thus  that  country  was 
hailed  into  the  family  of  independent  nations  by  the  freest 
and  mightiest  people  on  earth.  America  was  the  first  to 
recognize  her ;  and  this  measure  was  effected  by  the  zeal 
and  perseverance  of  Mr.  Clay.  The  effect  was  such  as  the 
great  prophet  of  liberty  had  anticipated.  Greece,  after  al- 
most super-human  struggles,  had  begun  to  faint  and  sink 
under  the  Turkish  scimetar ;  but  when  she  heard  herself 
proclaimed  independent  from  the  far-off  shores  of  the  wes- 
tern continent,  the  sound  thrilled  through  her  spirit,  as  if 
it  had  been  the  voice  of  her  three  hundred  Spartans  call- 
ing from  their  ancient  tombs,  and  her  fleeting  life  came 
back  to  her,  and  again  the  ranks  of  the  Turk  were  broken 
by  the  whirlwind  fury  of  her  onset. 

One  of  Mr.  Clay's  most  important  state  papers,  and,  in- 
deed, one  of  the  ablest  and  most  brilliant  on  record,  was 
produced  soon  after  he  came  into  office,  and  bears  date 
May  10th,  1825.  It  was  an  official  letter,  addressed  to 
Mr.  Middleton,  our  minister  at  Russia,  with  the  professed 
object  of  inducing  the  Emperor  Alexander  to  use  his  iuflu- 


HENRY   CLAY.  255 

ence  toward  putting  a  period  to  the  war,  that,  for  seven- 
teen years,  had  been  raging  between  Spain  and  her  South 
American  colonies.  This  letter,  which  has  been  equally 
admired  in  our  own  country  and  in  Europe,  for  the  beauty 
and  fervour  of  its  eloquence,  the  liberality  of  its  doctrines, 
and  the  strength  of  its  reasonings,  was  projected  and  writ- 
ten by  Mr.  Clay,  without  the  aid  of  the  suggestions  of  any 
other  officer  of  government.  The  skill  with  which,  in 
this  production,  Mr.  C.  flattered  the  pride  of  the  Empe- 
ror, and  enlisted  it  on  the  side  of  his  own  views,  is  a  fair 
illustration  of  that  consummate,  knowledge  of  human  na- 
ture, by  the  aid  of  which,  a  man,  even  with  abilities  far  in- 
ferior to  those  of  Mr.  Clay,  might  make  his  power  exten- 
sively felt  in  the  destinies  of  his  fellow  men. 

In  this  splendid  document,  Mr.  Clay  described,  with 
great  force,  the  condition  of  South  America ;  illustrated 
the  impossibility  of  her  ever  being  re-conquered  by  Spain ; 
dwelt  upon  the  benefits  that  would  result  from  the  re-esta- 
blishment of  peace,  not  only  to  the  belligerent  powers  but 
to  all  Europe ;  and  suggested,  that  the  Emperor  of  Rus- 
sia, by  effecting  such  a  measure,  might  render  himself  as 
great  and  glorious  in  peace,  as  he  had  already  become  in 
war.  Although  Mr.  Clay,  in  this  letter,  did  not  directly 
ask  the  interference  of  Alexander  in  behalf  of  Greece,  it 
being  a  subject  in  which  our  national  interests  were  not 
immediately  concerned,  still  he  was  careful  to  press  those 
topicks  and  dwell  upon  those  sentiments,  which  would  be 
most  likely  to  suggest  to  the  Emperor  the  cause  of  the 
Greeks,  and  remind  him  of  the  fajone  that  would  crown 
his  years,  if  he  were  to  deliver  that  suffering  people,  as 
well  as  the  South  Americans,  from  the  grasp  of  tyranny. 

The  effect  of  this  letter  was  such  as  the  writer  had 
aimed  to  produce.  The  Emperor  instructed  his  minister 
at  the  Spanish  court  to  use  every  exertion  in  favour  of  the 


256  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

pacification  of  the  colonies ;  and  shortly  afterwards,  the 
effusion  of  blood  was  stopped,  and  the  independence  of 
South  America  acknowledged  by  the  parent  country.  In 
the  mean  time,  Alexander  directed  his  personal  attention 
more  immediately  to  the  Greeks,  who  were  wan-ing  with 
the  ancient  enemy  of  his  realm.  He  made  proposals  to 
the  grand  sultan  with  regard  to  Greece,  but  they  were 
not  accepted.  Hereupon  he  commenced  the  grand  cir- 
cuit of  his  empire,  with  the  intent  to  prepare  for  war ;  and 
his  death  happening  shortly  afterwards,  his  successor. 
with  one  tremendous  blow,  shivered  the  power  of  Turkev 
to  its  foundation.  These  events,  originating,  as  they  did, 
in  the  patriotism  and  sagacity  of  our  own  immortal  Clay. 
show  how  the  physical  strength  of  half  a  world  may  be 
wielded  by  an  individual,  formed  by  nature  to  fashion  the 
great  occurrences  of  the  age. 

In  1825,  the  republicks  of  Colombia,  Mexico,  and  Cen- 
tral America,  invited  the  government  of  the  United  States 
to  send  representatives  to  a  general  congress  of  American 
nations,  to  be  held  at  Panama,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting 
certain  rules  with  regard  to  the  subsequent  relations  of  the 
contracting  powers.  Such  an  invitation,  from  such  sources, 
our  government  thought  it  impolitick  to-  refuse.  The 
refusal  would  have  manifested  an  inexcusable  disregard 
of  the  great  interests  of  the  American  hemisphere,  and 
been  a  virtual  contradiction  of  the  many  protestations  of 
friendship,  which,  during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Mon- 
roe, the  United  States  had  made  to  the  southern  republicks. 
After  due  deliberation,  Messrs.  Adams  and  Clay  determin- 
ed to  send  a  delegation  to  Panama,  and,  for  this  purpose, 
selected  Messrs.  John  Sergeant  and  Richard  C.  Anderson, 
men  of  great  experience  and  distinguished  talents. 

The  task  of  framing  a  document,  to  define  the  powers 
of  the  representatives  of  the  United  States,  and  designate 


HENRY   CLAY.  257 

the  course  they  were  to  adopt  upon  the  important  ques- 
tions, that  were  likely  to  arise  in  the  Panama  congress, 
devolved  on  Mr.  Clay.  It  was  a  task  which  he  nobly  ex- 
ecuted. Were  we  called  on  to  point  to  that  written  effort 
of  Mr.  Clay,  which,  beyond  all  others,  exhibited  an  en- 
larged capacity  of  mind,  an  over-mastering  intellect,  and 
a  boundless  comprehension  of  the  rights  of  nations,  we 
might  linger  over  many  other  of  his  productions  with  fer- 
vid and  enthusiastick  admiration,  but  we  should  fix  our 
preference,  at  last,  upon  the  "  Panama  Instructions."  We 
know  of  no  political  document  in  the  English  language, 
that  excels  this ;  and  we  believe  the  period  will  arrive, 
when  its  doctrines  will  be  acknowledged,  both  in  theory 
and  practice,  by  all  the  free  governments  on  earth. 

The  enemies  of  Messrs.  Adams  and  Clay,  it  is  well  re- 
collected, opposed  the  Panama  mission  with  a  violence 
almost  unexampled  in  the  history  of  partisan  infatuation. 
Toward  the  close  of  Mr.  A.'s  term  of  service,  however,  a 
call  was  made  by  some  of  the  friends  of  the  administra- 
tion in  congress,  for  the  publication  of  the  Panama  docu- 
ments, and,  among  the  rest,  of  the  official  instructions  to 
Messrs.  Sergeant  and  Anderson.  This  call  excited  the 
alarm  of  the  members  of  the  opposition ;  and  well  it  might. 
They  knew,  that  the  promulgation  of  those  instructions 
would  add  a  new  diamond  to  the  coronet  of  Mr.  Clay's 
fame.  They  knew,  too,  that  it  would  refute  every  asser- 
tion of  theirs,  that  the  object  of  the  administration,  in 
sending  representatives  to  the  Panama  congress,  was  to 
carry  into  effect  purposes  inconsistent  with  the  interests 
and  true  policy  of  the  United  States. 

Our  representatives  were  authorized  by  Mr.  Clay's  in- 
structions, to  treat  with  those  from  the  other  American 
powers,  of  peace,  friendship,  commerce,  navigation,  mari- 
time law,  neutral  and  belligerent  risrhts,  and  other  matters 
22* 


258  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

interesting  to  the  whole  continent ;  but  there  was  to  be  a 
distinct  understanding,  that  the  congress  should  be  strictly 
diplomatick  in  its  character,  and  not  a  body  possessing  the 
powers  of  ordinary  legislation.  The  United  States  were 
not  to  be  bound  by  any  treaty  or  pact,  to  which  they  did 
not  expressly  give  their  assent  through  their  representa- 
tives ;  and  every  treaty,  thus  assented  to,  was  to  be  sent 
home  for  a  final  ratification,  according  to  the  provisions  of 
the  constitution.  All  idea  of  an  Amphyctionick  council 
was  rejected.  Mr.  Clay  justly  considered,  that  the  whole 
American  continent  was  too  spacious  a  field  for  the  legis- 
lation of  a  single  body.  In  any  discussion  that  might, 
take  place,  relative  to  the  war  between  Spain  and  the 
southern  republicks,  our  representatives  were  forbidden  to 
take  part ;  but  still  they  were  apprized,  that  if  the  leagued 
despots  of  Europe  should,  from  hostility  to  liberal  princi- 
ples, attempt  to  aid  in  the  subjugation  of  Spanish  Ame- 
rica, the  whole  energy  of  the  United  States  would  be 
brought  into  requisition  td  repel  the  aggression. 

Mr.  Clay's  remarks,  with  regard  to  the  regulations  that 
ought  to  prevail  in  relation  to  private  property  upon  the 
ocean  in  time  of  war,  are  worthy  of  the  highest  commen- 
dation. We  give  an  extract : 

"Although,  in  the  arrangement  of  things,  security 
against  oppression  should  be  the  greatest  where  it  is  most 
likely  to  be  often  practised,  it  is,  nevertheless,  remarka.ble, 
that  the  progress  of  enlightened  civilization  has  been  much 
more  advanced  on  the  land  than  on  the  ocean.  And,  ac- 
cordingly, personal  rights,  and  especially  those  of  pro- 
perty, have  both  a  safety  and  protection  on  the  former, 
which  they  do  not  enjoy  on  the  latter  element.  Scarcely 
any  circumstance  would  now  tend  more  to  exalt  the  cha- 
racter of  America,  than  that  of  uniting  its  endeavours  to 
bring  up  the  arrears  of  civilization,  as  applied  to  the  ocean, 


HENRY   CLAY.  259 

to  the  same  forward  point  which  it  has  attained  on  the 
land,  and  thus  rendering  men  and  their  property  secure 
against  all  human  injustice  and  violence,  leave  them  ex- 
posed only  to  the  action  of  those  storms  and  disasters,  suf- 
ficiently perilous,  which  are  comprehended  in  the  dispen- 
sations of  Providence. 

"  It  is  under  the  influence  of  these,  and  similar  considera- 
tions, that  you  will  bring  forward,  at  the  contemplated 
congress,  the  proposition  to  abolish  war  against  private 
property  and  non-combatants  upon  the  ccean.  Private 
property  of  an  enemy  is  protected  when  on  land,  from 
seizure  and  confiscation.  Those  who  do  not  bear  arms 
there  are  not  disturbed  in  their  vocations.  Why  should 
not  the  same  humane  exemptions  be  extended  to  the  sea  ? 
If  merchandise  in  a  ware-house  on  shore  remains  unmo- 
lested, amidst  the  ravages  of  modern  war,  can  any  good 
reason  be  assigned  for  allowing  the  same  merchandise, 
when  transferred  to  a  ship  which  is  peaceably  navigating 
the  ocean,  to  be  an  object  of  legitimate  capture  and  con- 
demnation ?  If  artisans  and  husbandmen  are  permitted, 
without  hinderance,  to  pursue  their  respective  callings,  why 
should  not  the  not  less  useful  mariners  be  allowed  peace- 
ably to  distribute  the  productions  of  their  industry  in  ex- 
change for  the  common  benefit  of  mankind  ?  This  has 
been  an  object  which  the  United  States  have  had  much 
at  heart,  ever  since  they  assumed  their  place  among  the 
nations." 

We  have  room  but  for  one  further  extract  from  this  un- 
rivalled document.  The  following  are  Mr.  Clay's  senti- 
ments upon  the  subject  of  religious  toleration : 

"  You  will  avail  yourselves  of  all  suitable  occasions  to 
press  upon  the  ministers  of  the  other  American  states,  the 
propriety  of  a  free  toleration  of  religion,  within  their  re- 
spective limits.  The  framers  of  our  constitution  of  go- 


160  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

vernment  have  not  only  refrained  from  incorporating  with 
the  state  any  peculiar  form  of  religious  worship,  but  they 
have  introduced  an  express  prohibition  upon  the  power  of 
our  congress  to  make  any  law  respecting  an  establish- 
ment of  religion.  With  us,  none  are  denied  the  right 
which  belongs  to  all — to  worship  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  their  own  consciences.  In  our  villages  and  ci- 
ties, at  the  same  hour,  often  in  the  same  square,  and  by 
the  same  kind  of  summons,  congregations  of  the  pious  and 
devout,  are  gathered  together  in  their  respective  temples, 
and  after  performing  according  to  their  own  solemn  con- 
victions their  religious  duties,  quietly  return  and  mix  to- 
gether in  the  cheerful  fulfilment  of  their  domestick  and  so- 
cial obligations.  Not  unfrequently  the  heads  of  the  same 
family,  appertaining  to  different  sects,  resort  to  two  differ- 
ent churches,  to  offer  up,  in  their  own  chosen  way,  their 
orisons,  each  bringing  back  to  the  common  household 
stock  the  moral  instruction  which  both  have  derived  from 
their  respective  pastors.  In  the  United  States,  we  experi- 
ence no  inconvenience  from  the  absence  of  any  religious 
establishment,  and  the  universal  toleration  which  happily 
prevails.  We  believe  that  none  would  be  felt  by  other 
nations  who  should  allow  equal  religious  freedom.  It 
would  be  deemed  rash  to  assert  that  civil  liberty  and  an 
established  church  cannot  exist  together  in  the  same  state ; 
but  it  may  be  safely  affirmed,  that  history  affords  no  exam- 
ple of  their  union  where  the  religion  of  the  state  has  not 
only  been  established,  but  exclusive.  If  any  of  the  Ame- 
rican powers  think  proper  to  introduce  into  their  systems 
an  established  religion,  although  we  should  regret  such  a 
determination,  we  would  have  no  right  to  make  a  formal 
complaint  unless  it  should  be  exclusive. 

"  As  the  citizens  of  any  of  the  American  nations  have  a 
right,  when  here,  without  hinderance,  to  worship  the  deity 


HENRY    CLAY.  161 

according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  consciences,  our  ci- 
tizens ought  to  be  allowed  the  same  privilege  when, 
prompted  by  business  or  inclination,  they  visit  any  of  the 
American  states.  You  are  accordingly  authorized  to  pro- 
pose a  joint  declaration,  to  be  subscribed  by  the  ministers 
of  all  or  any  of  the  powers  represented,  that  within  their 
limits  there  shall  be  free  toleration  of  religious  worship. 
And  you  will  also,  in  any  treaty  or  treaties  that  you  may 
conclude,  endeavour  to  have  inserted  an  article  stipulating 
the  liberty  of  religious  worship,  in  the  territories  of  the 
respective  parties.  When  this  great  interest  is  placed  on 
the  basis  of  such  a  solemn  declaration,  and  such  binding 
treaty  stipulations,  it  will  have  all  reasonable  and  practi- 
cal security.  And  this  new  guaranty  will  serve  to  give 
strength  to  the  favourable  dispositions  of  enlightened  men 
in  the  various  American  states,  against  the  influence  of 
bigotry  and  superstition.  The  declaration  on  this  sub- 
ject in  which  you  are  authorized  to  unite,  as  well  as  that 
directed  against  European  colonization  within  the  terri- 
torial limits  of  any  of  the  American  nations,  hereinbefore 
mentioned,  does  no  more  than  announce,  in  respect  to  the 
United  States,  the  existing  state  of  their  institutions  and 
laws." 


262  BIOGRAPHY    OF 


SECTION  THIRD. 

THE  present  administration  came  into  power  on  the  4th 
of  March,  1829.  To  descant  upon  its  character,  as  thus 
far  developed,  is  foreign  to  our  present  purpose.  It  is  not 
for  us  to  compare  the  course  which  it  has  hitherto  pursued, 
with  that  of  the  one  which  preceded  it.  Posterity  will 
draw  the  parallel  between  them.  A  tribunal  impartial  and 
unswayed  by  the  temporary  excitements  of  party,  or  by 
those  personal  partialities  which  perish  with  the  genera- 
tion by  which  they  are  cherished,  will  sit  in  judgment 
upon  them.  The  virtues,  which  have  ennobled  our  country, 
and  the  errors  and  misrule  which  have  disgraced  it,  will 
stand  out  in  bold  relief  upon  that  scroll,  where  the  pen- 
cil of  history  gathers  back  the  images  of  the  past,  in 
their  mingled  beauty  and  deformity.  And  in  the  picture 
of  that  scroll,  and  in  the  judgment  of  that  tribunal,  the 
characters,  who  have  figured  in  the  present  administra- 
tion, and  in  that  which  preceded  it,  will  be  contrasted 
together  face  to  face,  like  an  assembly  of  apparitions — 
divested  of  all  the  factitious  importance  of  temporary 
power;  and  that  stern  estimate,  which  regards  only  moral 
and  intellectual  superiority,  will  be  passed  upon  them  with- 
out favour  or  partiality.  It  may  be  easy  to  anticipate  the 
Fesult  of  that  solemn  scrutiny.  The  light  of  investigation 
will  indeed  fall  upon  the  noble  exertions  of  enlarged  and 
patriotick  minds,  and  on  the  generous  sacrifices  of  high 
hearted  individuals  for  the  common  weal — but  not  on  them 
alone.  It  will  reveal  the  rottenness  of  political  corruption. 
It  will  scatter  the  thick  darkness  from  the  secret  places  of 


HENRY    CLAY.  263 

guilt,  and  lay  bare  the  mysteries  of  iniquity,  wherever 
they  may  be  found,  whether  in  the  present  administration, 
or  in  that  over  which  it  has  trodden  its  unhallowed  way  to 
power. 

Mr.  Adams  was  an  unpopular  man — not  deservedly  so ; 
for  no  man  ever  laboured  more  zealously  for  the  publick 
good — but  rather,  as  a  consequence  naturally  resulting 
from  the  peculiarity  of  his  temperament.  He  had  few 
personal  friends.  Isolated  and  alone,  he  stood  aloof  from 
an  intimate  communion  with  those  around  him,  without 
checking  for  a  single  instant  the  broad  expansion  of  a 
benevolence,  general  as  the  country  itself,  to  concentrate 
its  kindly  influence  upon  partial  and  secondary  objects. 
He  knew  little  of  the  human  heart  ;  and  but  seldom 
responded  to  its  warm  and  wild  sympathies.  The  tran- 
quil majesty  of  his  mind  was  like  that  of  the  ocean, 
when  its  Controller  has  laid  the  finger  of  his  silence 
upon  every  wave.  A-  mild  and  chastened  feeling  of  ad- 
miration might  indeed  steal  upon  the  hearts  of  those 
who  contemplated  its  quiet,  yet  noble  manifestations;  but 
for  the  calling  forth  of  enthusiasm,  a  wilder  and  more 
passionate  moving  of  its  elements  was  requisite.  It  need- 
ed the  sublimity  of  the  tempest — the  cloud-fire's  shock — 
the  loud  summons  of  the  thunder,  and  the.  hoarse  murmur 
of  the  answering  waves. 

Such  was  Mr.  Adams  in  the  private  affairs  of  his  ad- 
ministration. In  publick  he  was  ever  the  same — calm  as 
if  impressed  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  responsibility  of 
his  station,  yet  firm  as  the  mountain  rock  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  his  favourite  and  established  principles.  In  the 
midst  of  persecution  and  insult — that  fiery  ordeal  through 
which  the  great  minds  of  our  country  pass — he  pursued 
the  even  tenor  of  his  way,  turning  neither  to  the  right 
hand  nor  to  the  left ;  scrutinizing  friend  and  foe  with  the 


264  BIOGRAPHY  OP 

same  impartial  severity ;  and  bestowing  the  offices  in  his 
gift  upon  those  only  whom  he  deemed  worthy  from  their 
talents  and  integrity,  without  regarding  in  the  least  the 
bias  of  their  political  predilections.  Consequently,  those 
who  supported  him  were  actuated  by  no  selfish  motives. 
Their  confidence  and  support  cannot  but  be  considered  as 
the  result  of  honest  patriotism — the  homage  paid,  not  to 
the  executive  in  personal  adulation,  but  to  the  great  prin- 
ciples which  marked  the  whole  course  of  his  administration. 

Yet,  with  all  his  talents  and  all  his  virtues,  the  popular 
feeling  was  against  him ;  and  the  prominent  characters 
of  his  administration  shared  for  a  time  the  dark  fatality 
of  his  destiny.  To  hold  communion  with  the  unfortunate 
is  always  unpopular.  To  associate  with  those  upon  whom 
the  shadow  of  unjust  displeasure  is  resting,  is  to  share, 
partially  at  least,  in  their  misfortunes.  In  the  case  of  Mr. 
Clay,  however,  the  temporary  eclipse  of  popularity,  which 
resulted  from  such  a  connexion,  has  already  passed  away. 
With  a  spirit  tall  enough  to  overlook  the  congregated 
host  of  his  enemies,  and  with  strength  enough  to  rend 
their  thickest  masses  asunder,  Henry  Clay  was  not  one  to 
sink  under  unmerited  abuse.  The  cloud  of  detraction 
indeed  settled  heavily  around  him,,  but,  like  the  veil 
thrown  over  the  blazing  shrine  of  Isis,  it  was  scattered 
and  destroyed  by  a  splendour  which  it  could  not  over- 
shadow. 

On  the  return  of  Mr.  Clay  to  the  West,  he  was  every 
where  hailed  with  expressions  of  undiminished  affection. 
Many,  very  many,  who  had  been  among  his  warmest 
admirers,  had  disapproved  of  his  support  of  the  administra- 
tion of  Mr.  Adarns.  But  they — the  men,  who  had  seen 
him  at  his  fireside,  and  who  had  stood  by  him  in  the  halls 
of  legislation — could  not,  for  a  passing  moment,  doubt  the 
sincerity  of  his  motives.  To  them  the  stale  and  loathed 


HENRY   CLAY.  265 

Calumny  of  bargain  and  corruption — powerful  as  its 
effect  had  been  upon  the  minds  of  the  multitude — was  an 
idle  tale — a  slander  beyond  the  pale  of  credibility.  They 
knew  the  exceeding  worth,  the  manly  virtues,  and  the 
lofty  intellect  of  their  warm-hearted  fellow-citizen.  They 
knew  too,  that  he  had  been  wronged — foully  and  cruelly 
wronged ; — that  enfeebled  in  health  and  weary  in  spirit,  he 
had  returned  once  more  among  them  to  lay  bare  his 
whole  heart  to  the  view  of  his  old  constituents,  and  long- 
tried  and  affectionate  neighbours.  They  knew  how  to 
appreciate  the  outpourings  of  a  polluted  press ;  and  the 
noisy  abuse  of  men,  who  were  presuming  to  sit  in  judg- 
ment on  the  doings  of  one,  in  comparison  with  whom  they 
were  as  mole-hills  at  the  feet  of  the  eternal  Andes. 

Hardly  had  Mr.  Clay  reached  the  place  of  his  residence, 
when  the  electors  of  his  former  congressional  district 
urged  him,  almost  with  one  accord,  to  suffer  himself  to  be 
considered  as  a  candidate  for  the  national  legislature. 
Gen.  Clarke,  the  present  representative  of  the  district,  was 
among  those  who  urged  the  request,  declaring  himself 
ready  to  decline  being  considered  a  candidate  in  the  event 
of  Mr.  Clay's  acquiescence.  For  these  marks  of  unchang- 
ed respect  on  the  part  of  his  old  constituents,  Mr.  Clay 
publicly  expressed  his  gratitude — but  declined  the  propo- 
sal, on  the  ground  of  ill  health,  the  deranged  situation  of 
his  private  affairs,  and  a  consciousness,  that  many  of  his 
warmest  friends  in  other  portions  of  the  country  were  di- 
vided in  their  opinions,  relative  to  the  expediency  of  his 
return  to  congress.  For  similar  reasons,  he  also  declined 
the  offer  of  a  seat  in  the  legislature  of  Kentucky. 

Since  Mr.  Clay's  retirement  to  private  life,  he  has  re- 
ceived frequent  and  pressing  invitations  to  visit  his  fellow- 
citizens  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  partake  of 
their  hospitality.  Traduced,  as  he  had  been,  while  exert- 
23 


266  BIOGRAPHY   OP 

ing  all  the  energies  of  his  powerful  intellect  in  the  seT' 
vice  of  the  publick — charged  as  he  had  been  of  bargain 
and  corruption  by  men  high  in  authority  and  influence; 
they  desired  an  opportunity  publickly  to  testify  their  in- 
creased respect  for  his  character,  and  to  renew  the  assu- 
rance of  their  confidence  in  his  patriotism,  talents,  and  in- 
corruptibility. He  accepted  several  of  these  invitations ; 
and,  at  some  of  the  places  he  visited,  took  occasion  to 
animadvert  with  a  justifiable  severity  upon  the  conduct 
of  his  traducers  ;  to  place  the  acts  of  his  past  life  in  their 
true  light — a  light  which  shows  them  to  have  emanated 
from  a  heart  always  governed  by  pure  intentions,  and  ani- 
ma'ted  only  by  a  devotion  to  the  dearest  interests  of  his 
country. 

Whatever  objections  may  be  made  to  this  method  of 
vindicating  an  assailed  reputation,  it  has  had  an  effect 
upon  the  publick  mind  far  beyond  the  most  sanguine  anti- 
cipations of  Mr.  C.'s  warmest  friends.  We  are  not  of  the 
number  of  those  who  believe,  that  one  who  has  been  an 
officer  of  government  should  be  callous  to  assaults  upon  his 
character.  If  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  his  integrity 
has  been  attacked,  if  base  motives  have  been  imputed  to 
his  conduct,  he  owes  it  to  himself,  to  his  family,  to  his 
friends,  and  to  his  country,  to  come  forth  and  defend 
them.  Few  men  are  so  elevated  at  the  present  day,  that 
the  shafts  of  calumny  cannot  reach  them.  Even  virtue 
herself  has  no  armour  of  proof  against  the  stabs  of  that 
fiend  like  malignity,  which,  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Clay,  had 
sworn  never  to  allow  him  repose,  until  he  had  gone  down 
to  that  last  habitation,  where  "  the  wicked  cease  from  trou- 
bling, and  the  weary  are  at  rest."  It  is  no  charncteristick 
of  an  honourable  mind,  to  sit  down  tamely  under  the  u>- 
fliction  of  wrong.  When  the  quick  and  sensitive  feelings 
of  the  heart  are  touched  by  the  rude  and  ungloved  hand  of 


HENRY    CLAY.  267 

malevolence — when  a  reputation,  built  up  by  years  of  in- 
tellectual toil,  is  crumbling  away  beneath  the  influence  of 
misguided  prejudice,  defence,  open  and  manly  defence,  be- 
comes a  solemn  and  an  imperative  duty.  Silence  in  such  a 
case  must  be  the  result  of  conscious  iniquity,  or  the  apathy  of 
despair.  Mr.  Clay  has  made  his  defence ;  and  the  charge 
of  bargain  and  corruption  has  settled  like  a  fiery  curse, 
upon  the  hearts  of  those  who  invented  it. 

In  May,  1829,  the  citizens  of  Lexington  testified  their 
respect  for  the  talents,  and  gratitude  for  the  services  of 
Mr.  Clay,  by  a  splendid  public  dinner,  which  was  given 
him  at  Fowler's  Garden,  An  immense  concourse  assem- 
bled. A  toast,  highly  complimentary  to  the  "distinguish- 
ed guest,  friend,  and  neighbour,  Henry  Clay,"  was  re- 
ceived with  enthusiastick  acclamation.  As  the  long  and 
joud  murmurs  of  applause  died  away  on  the  verge  of  the 
gathered  multitude,  Mr.  Clay  arose,  and,  in. a  speech  of 
nearly  two  hours  in  length,  commanded  the  undivided 
attention  of  the  vast  and  gratified  audience.  It  was  a 
noble  effort.  The  sternest  hearts  melted  at  the  pathos 
of  its  exordium — the  clearest  intellect  bowed  down  to  the 
over-mastering  presence  of  its  argumentative  power — 
and  to  the  solemn  truth  and  touching  effect  of  its  perora- 
tion, every  countenance  bore  witness. 

Mr.  Clay  entered  at  length  into  an  exposition  of  his 
views  of  the  administration  of  a  republican  government. 
After  a  courteous  allusion  to  the  new  administration ;  and 
declaring  himself  ready  to  support  it,  so  far  as  was  con- 
sistent with  his  duty,  he  remarked  :  "  Government  is  a 
trust,  and  the  officers  of  government  are  trustees;  and 
both  the  trust  and  the  trustees  are  created  .for  the  benefit 
of  the  people.  Official  incumbents  are  bound,  therefore, 
to  administer  the  trust,  not  for  their  own  individual  bene- 
fit— but  so  as  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  people. 


268  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

This  is  the  vital  principle  of  a  republick.  If  a  different 
principle  prevail,  and  a  government  be  so  administered  as 
to  gratify  the  passions,  or  promote  the  interest  of  a  parti- 
cular individual,  the  forms  of  free  institutions  may  remain, 
but  that  government  is  essentially  a  monarchy.  The 
great  difference  between  a  monarchy  arid  republick,  is,  that 
in  a  republick  all  power  and  authority,  and  all  publick  offices 
and  honours,  emanate  from  the  people,  and  are  held  and 
exercised  for  the  benefit  of  the  people.  In  a  monarchy, 
all  power  and  authority,  all  offices  and  honours,  proceed 
from  the  monafch.  His  interests,  his  capnces,  and  his 
passions,  influence  and  control  the  destinies  of  the  king- 
dom. In  a  republick  the  people  are  every  thing,  and  a  par- 
ticular individual  nothing.  In  a  monarchy,  the  monarch 
is  every  thing,  and  the  people  nothing.  And  the  true 
character  of  the  government  is  stamped,  not  by  the  forms 
of  the  appointment  to  office  alone,  but  by  its  practical 
operation.  If,  in  one  nominally  free,  the  chief  magistrate, 
as  soon  as  he  is  clothed  with  power,  proceeds  to  exercise 
it  so  as  to  minister  to  his  passions,  and  to  gratify  his  fa- 
vourites; and  systematically  distributes  his  rewards  and 
punishments,  in  the  application  of  the  power  of  patronage, 
with  which  he  is  invested  for  the  good  of  the  whole,  upon 
the  principle  of  devotion  and  attachment  to  him,  and  not 
according  to  the  ability  and  fidelity  with  which  the  peo- 
ple are,  or  may  be  served : — that  chief  magistrate,  for  the 
tiane  being,  and  within  the  scope  of  his  authority,  is  in  fact, 
if  not  in  form,  a  monarch." 

The  conclusion  of  this  address  is  in  Mr.  Clay's  hap- 
piest mariner — a  mingling  of  the  pathetick  with  the  beau- 
tiful. He  stood  before  sires  far  advanced  in  years — en- 
deared to  him  by  an  interchange  of  friendly  office  and 
sympathetick  feeling,  beginning  more  than  thirty  years 
ago ;  and  before  their  sons,  grown  up  during  his  absence 


HENRY    CLAY.  269 

in  the  publick  councils.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  the  powerful 
effect  of  such  an  appeal  upon  such  an  audience ;  for  it 
was  the  language  of  truth — of  wronged  and  insulted  vir- 
tue— an  appeal  to  the  reason  as  well  as  to  the  hearts  of 
those  who  heard  it. 

"  And  now,  my  friends  and  fellow-citizens,"  said  Mr. 
Clay,  "  I  cannot  part  from  you  on  possibly  this  last 
occasion  of  my  addressing  you,  without  reiterating  the 
expression  of  my  thanks  from  a  heart  overflowing  with 
gratitude.  I  came  among  you,  now  mere  than  thirty 
years  ago,  an  orphan  boy,  penniless,  a  stranger  to  you 
all,  without  friends,  without  the  favour  of  the  great.  You 
took  me  up,  cherished  me,  caressed  me,  protected  me,  ho- 
noured me.  You  have  constantly  poured  upon  me  a  bold 
and  unabated  stream  of  innumerable  favours.  Time,  which 
wears  out  every  thing,  has  increased  and  strengthened 
your  affection  for  me.  When  I  seemed  deserted  by  almost 
the  whole  world,  and  assailed  by  almost  every  tongue  and 
pen  and  press,  you  have  fearlessly  and  manfully  stood 
by  me,  with  unsurpassed  zeal  and  undiminished  friend- 
ship. When  I  felt  as  if  I  should  sink  beneath  the  storm 
of  abuse  and  detraction,  which  was  violently  -raging 
around  me,  I  found  myself  upheld  and  sustained  by  your 
encouraging  voices,  and  your  approving  smiles.  I  have 
doubtless  committed  many  errors  and  indiscretions,  over 
which  you  have  thrown  the  broad  mantle  of  your  charity. 
But  I  can  say,  and  in  the  presence  of  my  God  and  of 
this  assembled  multitude  I  will  say,  that  I  have  honestly 
and  faithfully  served  my  country  ;  that  I  have  never 
wronged  it ;  and  that,  however  unprepared  I  lament  that 
I  am  to  appear  in  the  Divine  presence  on  other  accounts, 
I  invoke  the  stern  justice  of  His  judgement  on  my  publick 
conduct,  without  the  smallest  apprehension  of  His  dis- 
pleasure." 


270  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

At  other  places  which  Mr.  Clay  visited,  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  his  business  as  a  lawyer,  or  in  the  interchange  of 
the  kind  offices  of  relationship,  during  the  seasons  of  1829 
and  1830,  he  expressed  his  sentiments  freely,  in  reference 
to  those  great  measures  of  national  policy  which  he  had 
so  long  and  steadily  advocated.  Nor  did  he  at  the  same 
time  conceal  his  disapprobation  of  the  course  pursued  by 
the  administration  in  power. 

There  is  a  kind  of  selfish  prudence,  of  timorous  expe- 
diency, in  which  many  find  an  apology  for  withholding 
their  real  sentiments  upon  the  most  important  subjects. 
Even  when  the  dearest  interests  of  the  publick  are  at  stake 
— when  political  corruption,  like  the  poison  breath  of  the 
Samiel,  is  sweeping  around  them,  and  blasting  the  fairest 
blossoms  of  liberty,  instead  of  going  forth  like  the  prophet 
of  old  between  the  dead  and  the  living,  to  stay  the  progress 
of  the  contagion,  they  intrench  themselves  behind  this 
doubtful  expediency,  and  closing  their  eyes  and  their  ears, 
talk  calmly  of  neutrality.  With  such,  Mr.  Clay  has  no 
fellowship  of  feeling.  Whatever  his  sentiments  may  bo, 
he  casts  them  freely  before  the  publick,  in  the  unhesitating 
frankness  of  conscious  integrity.  Subtle  policy  intrigue, 
and  double  dealing,  are  no  elements  of  his  republican 
character.  Differing  broadly  as  he  does  from  the  adminis- 
tration of  Gen.  Jackson — to  conceal  that  difference — to 
affect  friendship  where  his  better  feelings  would  scorn  and 
loathe  it,  would  be  a  manifest  departure  from  the  uniform 
sincerity  of  his  life.  To  Gen.  Jackson  he  has  always 
done  justice.  On  no  occasion  has  he  sought  to  tarnish 
one  leaf  of  the  green  chaplet,  which  he  had  himself  aided 
in  binding  upon  the  brows  of  the  gray -haired  chieftain. 
But  he  has  never  yielded  to  the  madness  of  military  en- 
thusiasm. In  Gen.  Jackson,  as  President  of  the  United 
States,  he  finds  much  to  condemn.  He  believes  the  ark 


11KXRY    CLAY.  271 

of  our  political  safety  to  bo  endangered  while  in  the  keep- 
ing of  one  who  has  so  often  touched  it  with  an  unholy 
hand. 

We  sincerely  regret  the  necessity  of  an  allusion  of  this 
nature  to  the  administration  of  Gen.  Jackson.  But,  identi- 
fied, as  Mr.  Clay's  latter  history  is,  with  the  rise  and  pro- 
gress of  that  administration,  any  attempt  on  our  part  to 
avoid  such  an  allusion,  would  be  justly  considered  as  over 
scrupulous — a  manifest  departure  from  the  plain  path  of 
our  duty.  It  is  our  province  to  state  facts,  without  regard 
to  the  probable  comments  which  they  may  call  forth. 

In  March,  1830,  Mr.  Clay,  on  his  return  from  New 
Orleans,  to  which  place  his  private  affairs  had  called  him, 
received  a  pressing  invitation  from  the  citizens  of  Natchez, 
Miss.,  to  partake  of  a  publick  dinner.  The  invitation 
being  accepted,  the  city  was  crowded  with  an  immense 
concourse  of  visitors  from  all  the  adjacent  country.  It 
was  no  partizan  gathering.  The  warmest  political  oppo- 
nents sat  down,  face  to  face  with  each  other,  united  in  one 
subject  at  least — the  desire  to  do  honour  to  their  distin- 
guished guest — to  one,  whose  patriotick  ajctives  none  of 
them  could  doubt,  however  much  they  might  differ  from 
his  principles. 

Mr.  Clay  made  some  remarks  on  this  occasion,  in  his 
usual  eloquent  and  engaging  manner.  He  was  inter- 
rupted more  than  once  by  the  deep,  involuntary  murmurs 
of  applause  which  burst  forth  around  him.  Every  word 
which  he  uttered  went  down  and  rested  upon  the  hearts 
of  his  auditors,  like  the  kind  tones  of  some  blessed  visi- 
tant. A  gentleman  who  was  present,  has  given  us  an 
animated  description  of  the  scene,  a  part  of  which  we 
have  transcribed. 

"It  was  a  proud  moment  for  Henry  Clay.  The  dark 
elements  of  faction  sank  down  into  quietude  before  him. 


27  EIOGllAPHY    OF 

Men  who  had  been  arrayed  for  years  in  political  conten- 
tion, who  had  hitherto  met  each  other  with  the  clenched 
lip  and  knitted  brow  of  hatred,  gave  back  on  this  occasion 
the  smiles  of  one  another. 

"  Mr.  Clay  commenced  by  an  acknowledgement  of  his 
gratitude  for  the  honours  bestowed  upon  him.  '  There  is 
nothing  in  life,'  said  he,  '  half  so  delightful  to  the  heart, 
as  to  know,  that,  notwithstanding  the  conflicts  which 
arise  among  men — the  whirlwind  and  madness  of  party 
feeling — there  yet  are  times,  as  on  the  present  occasion, 
when  passion  and  prejudice  slumber — moments,  when  old 
differences  cease  from  troubling;  and  when  all  that  is 
turbulent,  as  all  that  is  distrustful,  are  sacrificed  to  the 
generous  and  social  dictates  of  humanity.' 

"  He  spoke  of  Gen.  Jackson.  He  spoke  of  his  great 
battle.  Darkly  as  he  had  been  traduced,  deeply  as  he  had 
been  injured  by  that  man,  he  yet  hesitated  not  to  bestow 
upon  him  his  full  measure  of  patriotick  encomium.  His 
feelings  rose  with  the  subject.  His  eye  kindled.  There 
was  a  moral  grandeur  in  his  look ;  and  all  who  saw  it  felt 
that  it  was  tHfe  visible  manifestation  of  the  triumph  of  his 
nobler  feelings  over  the  dark  sense  of  wrong. 

"  At  that  moment  I  would  have  given  my  right  hand 
to  have  seen  Gen.  Jackson  confronted  before  his  magnani- 
mous opponent — face  to  face,  with  the  man,  whom  he 
had  so  foully  injured.  Had  he  been  there — under  the  eye 
of  that  noble  hearted-speaker — every  word  of  commenda- 
tion, every  generous  acknowledgement  of  his  services, 
would  have  fallen  upon  his  head  like  a  rain  of  fire. 

"  The  applause  which,  ever  and  anon,  broke  in  upon  his 
address,  was  unaffected  and  spontaneous.  It  was  the  over- 
flow of  enthusiastick  feeling.  Nor  was  it  poured  forth 
without  an  adequate  cause. 


HENRY    CLAY.  2T?t 

1  His  words  had  such  a  melting  flow, 

And  spoke  the  truth  so  sweetly  well, 
They  dropped  like  heaven's  serenest  snow, 
And  all  was  brightness  where  they  fell.' " 

In  July,  Mr.  Clay  was  called  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  in  the 
discharge  of  his  professional  duties.  Although  travelling 
as  a  private  citizen — a  plain  republican  lawyer — he  was 
every  where  received  with  marks  of  attention,  and  enthu- 
siastick  regard.  In  every  town  which  he  visited,  the 
citizens  gathered  around  him ;  and  wherever  he  turned,  a 
hundred  hands  were  extended  to  clasp  his  own.  Publick 
feeling  flowed  after  him  as  the  tides  of  ocean  follow  the 
moving  moon. 

At  a  collation  given  by  the  citizens  of  Cincinnati,  during 
this  journey,  Mr.  Clay  remarked,  at  length,  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  internal  improvements,  as  connected  with  the  veto 
of  Gen.  Jackson  to  bills  passed  by  Congress  in  accordance 
with  its  views  of  the  system,  and  the  settled  policy  of  the 
nation.  He  maintained  the  constitutional  right  of  Con- 
gress to  countenance,  and  co-operate  with,  such  works,  as 
in  its  estimation  are  of  manifest  national  .importance.  He 
also  dwelt  upon  the  tariff — its  principles  and  its  practical 
effects.  His  concluding  remarks  were  truly  eloquent. 
'Why,'  he  demanded,  'were  the  fires  of  unabated  persecu- 
tion kindled  around  him  ?  Why  was  the  artillery  of  the 
press  incessantly  levelled  upon  him?  What  had  he  done? 
The  history  of  his  past  life  was  before  the  people.  If  he  had 
erred  in  any  of  his  endeavours  to  subserve  the  best  interests 
of  the  publick,  he  regretted  it.  His  conscience  at  least 
did  not  reproach  him.  And  what  was  he  doing  to  draw 
down  upon  him  the  maledictions  of  his  countrymen  ?  He 
was  a  private  citizen.  He  could  exercise  authority  over 
none;  nor  had  he  any  engine  of  governmental  patronage 


274  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

to  pervert,  and  make  subservient  to  purposes  of  personal 
aggrandizement.' 

In  December,  1829,  Mr.  Clay  delivered  an  address  before 
the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society.  It  is  a  strong,  elo- 
quent, and  conclusive  argument,  in  support  of  the  objects 
and  principles  of  the  society.  Slavery,  in  the  abstract, 
Mr.  Clay  views  with  unmingled  abhorrence.  He  justly 
considers  it  a  monster  of  evil — a  deadly  vampyre  draining 
away  the  life  blood  of  the  republick.  But  he  is  not  one 
to  abuse  that  portion  of  his  countrymen  upon  whom  the 
misfortune  has  fallen.  Believing,  as  he  does,  that  the 
present  generation  are  not  responsible  for  its  existence,  he 
would  rather  afford  the  slave-holder  his  sympathy,  than 
censure  him  for  the  existence  of  an  acknowledged  evil, 
which  he  has  no  means  of  averting. 

In  common  with  the  society  of  which  Mr.  Clay  is  a 
prominent  supporter,  he  would  mildly  and  cautiously  ap- 
proach the  perilous  volcano  of  slavery.  He  would  endea- 
vour to  obviate  its  dangers  by  turning  stream  after  stream 
of  philanthropy  upon  its  burning  bosom,  quenching  by 
slow  degrees  its  destructive  element ;  not  by  madly  tearing 
open  the  crater  of  its  prison-house,  and  overwhelming  the 
whole  land  with  one  fiery  visitation. 

In  the  address  before  the  Colonization  Society,  Mr.  Clay 
developed  with  a  clear  and  definite  understanding  of  his 
subject,  the  immense  evils  resulting  from  the  existence  of 
slavery.  He  portrayed  in  vivid  colours  the  sufferings,  the 
mental  and  bodily  degradation,  of  the  slave.  He  spoke  of 
the  dangers  to  be  apprehended  from  an  insurrection  of  the 
blacks,  when,  in' every  abiding  place  of  slavery  there  were 
fierce  hearts  brooding  over  the  accumulated  wrong  of 
years,  and  dark  hands  ready  to  grasp  the  fire-brand  and 
the  dagger.  He  took  a  view  of  the  operations  of  the 
Colonization  Society  from  its  commencement,  and  dwelt 


HENRY   CLAY.  275 

with  pleasure  upon  the  success  which  had  attended  its 
efforts  to  establish  a  colony  of  free  blacks  in  the  land  of 
their  forefathers — to  introduce  the  blessings  of  civilization 
into  the  wilds  of  Africa,  and  light  up  as  with  a  new  sun, 
the  darkened  moral  atmosphere  of  that  ill  fated  continent. 
We  cannot  forbear  to  make  an  extract  of  this  portion  of 
the  address. 

"  Let  us  not  be  disheartened  by  the  little  which  has  been 
accomplished  in  the  brief  space  of  thirteen  years,  or  by 
the  magnitude  and  difficulties  of  the  splendid  undertak- 
ing. In  the  execution  of  vast  schemes  which  affect  the 
happiness  and  the  condition  of  a  large  portion  of  the  habi- 
table globe,  time  is  necessary,  which,  in  the  estimation  of 
mortals,  may  appear  of  long  duration,  but  which,  in  the 
eyes  of  Providence,  or  in  the  computation  of  the  periods 
of  national  existence,  is  short  and  fleeting.  How  long 
was  it  after  Romulus  and  Remus  laid  the  scanty  founda- 
tions of  their  little  state,  within  the  contracted  limits  of 
the  peninsula  of  Italy,  before  imperial  Rome  burst  forth  in 
all  its  astonishing  splendour — the  acknowledged  mistress 
of  the  world !  Ages  rolled  away  before  Carthage,  and  other 
colonies  of  the  olden  time,  shone  out  in  all  their  com- 
mercial and  military  glory.  Centuries  have  elapsed  since 
our  forefathers  in  the  morasses  of  James  river,  and  on  the 
rock  of  Plymouth,  began  the  work  of  founding  this  re- 
publick,  yet  in  its  infancy.  Eighteen  hundred  years  have 
rolled  away  since  the  awful  sacrifice  of  our  blessed  re- 
deemer upon  the  M«unt  of  Calvary,  and  more  than  half 
mankind  continue  to  deny  his  mission  and  his  word  I 

"  We  may  boldly  challenge  the  annals  of  human  nature 
for  the  record  of  any  human  plan  for  the  melioration  of 
the  condition  or  the  advancement  of  our  race,  which  pro 
mises  more  unmixed  good  in  comprehensive  benevolence, 
than  that  of  the  Colonization  Society,  if  carried  into  full 


276  BIOGRAPHY  OF 

operation.  Its  benevolent  purposes  are  not  confined  to  the 
limits  of  one  continent — not  to  the  prosperity  of  a  solitary 
race.  They  embrace  the  two  largest  portions  of  the  earth, 
with  the  peace  and  happiness  of  both  descriptions  of  their 
present  inhabitants,  and  the  countless  millions  of  their 
posterity.  The  colonists,  reared  in  the  bosom  of  this  re- 
publick,  with  a  knowledge  of  the  blessings  which  liberty 
imparts,  although  now  unable  to  share  them,  will  carry 
a  recollection  of  them  to  benighted  Africa,  and  light  up, 
in  time,  her  immense  territory.  And  may  we  not  indulge 
the  hope,  that,  in  a  period  of  time,  not  surpassing  in 
duration  that  of  our  own  colonial  and  national  existence, 
we  shall  behold  a  confederation  of  republican  states,  on 
the  western  shores  of  Africa,  with  their  congress  and  their 
annual  legislatures,  thundering  forth  in  behalf  of  the 
rights  of  man,  and  causing  tyrants  to  tremble  on  their 
thrones  ?" 

The  conclusion  of  the  address  is  full  of  rich  and  splen- 
did imagery,  and  of  pure  and  exalted  feeling.  It  is  a 
specimen  of  the  copiousness  and  magnificence  of  its  au 
thor's  flow  of  thought. 

"Almost  all  Africa  is  in  a  state  of  the  darkest  igno- 
rance and  barbarism,  addicted  alike  to  idolatry  and  su- 
perstition, and  destitute  of  the  blessings  of  Christianity  and 
civilization.  The  American  Colonization  Society  is  an 
instrument,  v/hich,  under  the  guidance  of  Providence,  is 
competent,  with  publick  assistance,  to  spread  the  light  of 
both  throughout  its  vast  dominions,  and  the  means  are 
as  simple,  as  the  end  is  grand  and  magnificent.  It  will 
employ  as  agents  some  of  the  very  brethren  of  the  heathen 
sought  to  be  converted,  and  brought  within  the  pale  of 
civilization.  The  Colonization  Society  proposes  to  send 
not  one  or  two  pious  members  of  Christianity  into  a  foreign 
land,  among  a  different,  and,  perhaps,  a  suspicious  race  of 


HENRY   CLAY,  277 

another  complexion ;— but,  to  transport  annually,  for  an 
indefinite  number  of  years,  thousands  of  efficient  missiona- 
ries, of  the  descendants  of  Africa  itself,  with  the  same 
interests,  sympathies,  and  constitutions  of  the  natives,  to 
communicate  the  benefits  of  our  holy  religion,  and  of  the 
arts  of  civilization.  And  this  colony  of  missionaries  is  to 
operate  not  alone  by  preaching  the  words  of  truth  and 
revelation,  which,  however  delightful  to  the  ears  of  the 
faithful  and  intelligent,  are  not  always  comprehended  by 
untutored  savages,  but  also  by  works  of  occular  demon- 
stration. It  will  open  the  great  forests — it  will  build  up 
cities — erect  temples  for  Christian  worship;  and  thus  prac- 
tically exhibit  to  the  native  sons  of  Africa,  the  beautiful 
moral  spectacle,  and  the  superiour  advantages  of  our  reli- 
gious and  social  systems.  In  this  unexaggerated  view  of 
the  subject,  the  African  colony,  compared  with  other  mis- 
sionary plans,  presents  the  force  and  grandeur  of  the  noble 
steamer,  majestically  ascending,  and  with  ease  subduing, 
the  current  of  the  Mississippi,  in  comparison  with  the  feeble 
and  tottering  canoe,  moving  slowly  among  the  reeds  which 
fringe  its  shores.  It  holds  up  the  image  of  the  resistless 
power  of  the  Mississippi  itself,  rushing  down  from  the  sum- 
mits of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  marking  its  deep  and 
broad  and  rapid  course,  through  the  heart  of  this  conti- 
nent, thousands  of  miles,  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  in  com- 
parison with  that  of  an  obscure  rivulet,  winding  its  undis- 
cernible  way  through  dark  and  dense  forests  or  luxuriant 
prairies,  where  it  is  quickly  and  forever  lost. 

"  Confiding  in  the  approving  judgement  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, and  conscious  of  the  benevolence  and  purity  of  our 
intentions,  we  may  fearlessly  advance  in  our  great  work. 
And  when  we  shall,  as  soon  we  must,  be  translated  from 
this  into  another  existence,  is  the  hope  presumptuous,  that 
we  shall  then  behold  the  common  Father  of  the  white 
24 


278  BIOGRAPHY    OF 

and  the  black — the  Ruler  of  the  universe,  cast  His  all-see- 
ing eye  upon  civilized  and  regenerated  Africa — its  culti- 
vated fields — its  coasts  studded  with  numerous  cities,  and 
adorned  with  temples  dedicated  to  the  religion  of  His  re- 
deeming Son — its  far-famed  Niger  and  all  its  great  rivers, 
lined  with  flourishing  villages,  arid  navigated  by  that 
wonderful  power  which  American  genius  first  applied ; — 
and  that,  after  dwelling  with  satisfaction  upon  the  glori- 
ous spectacle,  he  will  deign  to  look  with  approbation  upon 
us,  His  humble  instruments,  who  have  contributed  to  pro- 
duce it." 

It  is  worthy  of  regard,  that  the  philanthropick  views 
and  feelings  of  Mr.  Clay,  broadly  as  they  extend,  and 
warmly  as  they  are  cherished,  are  yet  tempered  by  sound 
judgement  and  correct  ideas  of  expediency.  We  have 
already  seen  how  resolutely  he  maintained  the  cause  of 
his  country  in  the  stormy  discussions  of  the  Missouriques- 
tion,  at  a  time  when  the  elements  of  our  federal  union 
were  shaken  almost  to  separation.  Although  opposed  to 
slavery  in  all  its  forms,  he  saw,  in  that  hour  of  contention, 
the  absolute  necessity  of  a  surrender  of  his  individual 
opinions,  as  a  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  patriotism.  That 
surrender  was  made,  and  the  union  was  preserved. 

We  have  now  reached  that  point,  beyond  which  our 
vision  cannot  penetrate.  We  have  briefly  and  imperfectly 
detailed  the  leading  incidents  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Clay,  down 
to  the  present  period.  We  are  fully  sensible  that  we  have 
not  done  justice  to  the  subject.  Linked,  as  Mr.  Clay's 
services  are,  in  undying  association  with  the  great  deeds 
and  giant  enterprises  which,  for  a  long  series  of  years, 
have  elevated  us  in  the  view  of  other  nations,  and  strength- 
ened with  new  energies  our  moral  and  physical  power, 
the  task  of  their  correct  and  thorough  development  be- 
longs only  to  the  future  chronicler  of  our  country's  political 


HENRY   CLAY.  279 

history.  Never,  perhaps,  was  the  history  of  an  untitled 
citizen  more  completely  identified  with  that  of  his  country. 
It  has  been  written  in  our  treaties — It  has  been  thundered 
aloud  upon  a  score  of  battle-fields,  and  where  the  silence 
of  the  great  deep  has  been  broken  by  the  hot  breath  of  our 
cannon — It  has  been  heard  by  the  republicks  of  the  South 
in  our  solemn  recognition  of  their  freedom — It  has  been 
inscribed  in  enduring  characters  upon  the  whole  surface  of 
our  immense  territory,  in  the  newly  opened  canal,  and  the 
crowded  thoroughfare — in  the  triumph  of  human  intellect 
over  the  prohibitions  of  nature — It  has  been  seen  and  felt 
in  the  operations  of  that  system,  which  has  enabled  our 
country  to  rely  on  its  own  vast  resources — to  substitute 
the  plain  but  ample  garb  of  independence  for  the  borrowed 
and  tawdry  trappings  of  Europe ;  and  which  has  called 
up,  as  by  the  wand  of  enchantment,  the  lively  village, 
and  the  flourishing  manufactory,  upon  half  our  mountain 
streams.  • 

In  the  foregoing  pages  we  have  attempted  no  eulogium 
of  Mr.  Clay.  Our  commendatory  remarks  have  been  only 
such  as  have  naturally  resulted  from  a  contemplation  of 
his  important  publick  services.  These  services  are,  in 
themselves,  his  best  eulogium ;  and  we  have  simply  en- 
deavoured to  place  them  before  the  American  people,  in 
their  just  and  true  light — in  that  light  in  which  they  must 
be  regarded  by  all  posterity,  and  by  the  candid  and  im- 
partial of  the  present  day. 


280  BIOGRAPHY   OF 


CONCLUSION. 


THE  person  of  Mr.  Clay  exhibits  a  perfect  combina- 
tion of  suavity,  dignity,  and  power.  He  is  tall  and  some- 
what slender,  and  his  carriage  and  deportment  are  manly 
and  prepossessing.  His  mouth  is  large,  but  bland  and 
energetick  in  its  expression.  His  forehead  is  high  and 
broad.  The  contour  of  his  head  is  remarkably  fine.  A 
disciple  of  the  school  of  Gall  and  Spurzheim  would  find 
much  to  admire  in  its  ample  development  of  all  those 
organs  of  the  brain,  which,  in  the  estimation  of  the  phre- 
nologist, are  the  unfailing  indications  of  superiour  intellect. 
In  his  ordinary  intercourse  with  society,  and  while  engaged 
in  common  conversation,  the  lively  frankness  and  open  be- 
n^volence  of  his  feelings  are  portrayed  in  his  countenance. 
Iji  debate — in  the  warm  and  fierce  conflict  of  mind — his 
features  sympathize  with  the  varying  emotions  of  his 
heart.  His  keen  eye  kindles  into  new  brightness  from  the 
irrepressible  fire  within  him ;  and  his  whole  countenance 
discovers  like  a  mirror  the  transit  of  the  star-like  thoughts, 
which  beam  upon  lips  touched  with  the  living  coal  of 
eloquence. 

As  an  orator,  Mr.  Clay  ranks  high — higher,  perhaps, 
than  any  otlier  individual  in  the  United  States.  His  re- 
ported speeches  discover  a  mind  more  logical  than  imagi- 
native. Yet  they  are  alive  with  feeling — so  much  so,  that, 
in  many  instances,  the  patient  searching  out  of  old  authori- 
ties, and  the  slow  and  cautious  development  of  opinion,, 
seem  to  have  been  incompatible  with  the  ardour  of  his 


HENRY  CLAY.  281 

temperament.  "When  he  believed  the  honour  and  pros- 
perity of  the  country  at  stake — when,  to  his  view,  the 
torch  of  the  incendiary  was  flashing  with  unholy  light  at 
the  very  threshold  of  Liberty — he  passed  by  every  minor 
consideration,  every  tedious  preliminary,  and  grappled  at 
once  with  the  important  subject  before  him.  Yet,  in  the 
debates  on  the  Tariff  and  Internal  Improvement,  his  array 
of  facts  and  concentrated  arguments,  massy  and  united, 
resembles  the  strong  linkings  of  a  chain  of  iron. 

His  talents  are  always  at  command.  He  is  never  thrown 
off  his  guard  when  engaged  in  an  intellectual  struggle ; 
but,  in  whatever  manner  the  question  for  discussion  may 
be  presented,  he  scrutinizes  its  features  at  a  glance,  dis- 
covers its  weak  or  its  defensible  points,  and  directs  his  own 
operations  accordingly.  Once  engaged  in  his  subject,  he 
finds  no  obstacle  of  sufficient  power  to  oppose  the  onward 
and  irresistible  flow  of  his  argument.  Every  thing  is 
borne  away  before  it.  His  reported  speeches  are  but  the 
skeletons  of  their  masterly  originals.  In  comparison  with 
their  first  manifestations,  they  are  like  deserted  temples, 
after  the  glories  of  their  mystical  worship  have  departed, 
or  like  dull  gray  clouds,  after  the  illumination  of  the  light- 
ning has  passed  away  forever.  The  gems  which  are  borne 
upward  by  the  hurrying  wave  of  his  eloquence  are  never 
seen  but  once.  They  dazzle  in  the  peculiar  and  immediate 
light  which  hovers  around  his  subject ;  and  having  per- 
formed their  office  of  illustration,  are  forgotten  even  by 
the  mind  which  conceived  them. 

His  style  is  peculiarly  happy.  It  has  the  freshness  and 
originality  of  the  heart,  and  its  effect  has  always  been 
powerfully  felt.  In  general,  it  may  be  likened  to  the  cur- 
rent of  some  majestick  river,  moving  calmly  onward  to  the 
ocean,  and  gathering  in  its  bosom  the  starlight  and  quiet 
sunshine.  But,  in  the  moments  of  strong  excitement,  when 
24* 


282  BIOGRAPHY   OF 

mind  wrestles  with  mind  for  the  mastery,  it  assumes  a 
bolder  and  more  startling  character.  It  is  the  sudden  rush 
of  the  cataract — the  "jet  from  the  Geyser  when  the  spring 
is  in  full  play."  It  has  no  false  glitter — no  ostentation — 
no  fanciful  and  unprofitable  display  of  imagery.  When- 
ever it  leaves  the  deep,  bold  track  of  logical  accuracy,  and 
rises  to  the  lighter  elements  of  the  imagination,  it  is  feeling 
alone  which  bears  it  upward — the  poetry  of  passion. 

His  voice  is  deep,  full-toned,  and  commanding.  It  has 
the  almost  magical  power  of  controlling  the  feelings  of 
those  who  listen  to  its  varying  cadences  and  exquisite  modu- 
lations. The  hearts  of  his  auditors  are  moved  in  harmony 
with  its  melting  pathos  or  its  stirring  energy,  as  the  ani- 
mate and  inanimate  things  of  nature  moved  to  the  harp  of 
Orpheus.  His  action  in  speaking  is  uniformly  appropriate 
and  graceful.  His  every  gesture  has  its  manifest  meaning; 
and  every  change  of  his  countenance  its  corresponding 
effect  upon  the  audience. 

The  character  of  Mr.  Clay's  mind  is  not  easily  analyzed, 
His  powers  are  so  numerous — so  varied  and  yet  so  harmo- 
nious— so  rich  arid  loft}'-,  and  yet  so  readily  called  forth, 
that  their  comparison  with  those  of  the  statesmen  and 
orators  of  the  present  day  could  only  present  them  in  the 
light  of  contrast.  It  is  not  alone  in  the  eloquent  period, 
or  in  the  stately  flow  of  a  diction  rich  with  the  jewelry  of 
thought,  that  Mr.  Clay's  mental  superiority  is  discovered. 
The  bold  and  vehement  leader  of  debate,  when  engaged 
in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  or  in  the  difficult  intricacies 
of  foreign  negotiation,  has  uniformly  manifested  all  the 
wisdom,  foresight,  and  accuracy,  which  characterize  the 
perfect  and  accomplished  statesman.  Unlike  Anteus  of 
old,  his  intellect  is  not  limited  to  one  sphere  of  action.  It 
can  wrestle  upon  earth,  or  soar  upward  to  the  eagle's  home 
of  storms. 


HENRY   CLAY.  283 

Much  as  Mr.  Clay  undoubtedly  owes  to  the  endowments 
of  natural  genius,  he  may  be  said  to  have  built  up  his  own 
reputation.  Slowly,  and  with  almost  unparalleled  exer- 
tion, he  has  reared  the  temple  of  his  greatness.  Genius, 
whatever  it  may  have  been  called,  or  whatever  it  may  be, 
is  useful  and  glorious  only  in  those  who,  like  Mr.  Clay, 
have  been  able  to  tame  down  its  waywardness,  and  direct 
its  energies  upon  noble  objects.  There  may  be,  at  times, 
a  phenomenon  of  mind,  which  bursts  forth  at  once  in  the 
full  possession  of  power,  like  Pallas  from  the  brow  of  the 
infidel  deity.  It  may  flash  out  like  a  comet  in  the  starry 
heaven  of  intellect,  dazzling  and  flaming  for  a  moment, 
but  it  will  leave  no  traces  of  its  path — no  gems  of  light 
and  knowledge  in  the  horizon  over  which  it  has  hurried. 

In  private  life,  Mr.  Clay  has  all  the  characteristicks  of 
the  gentleman.  No  man,  perhaps,  is  better  calculated  to 
secure  respect  and  warm  personal  friendship.  The  diffi- 
culties which  interfered  with  his  early  career,  and  through 
which  he  has  forced  his  way,  even  as  the  strong  fountain 
springs  upward  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth  to  the  free  air 
and  sunshine,  together  with  his  grateful  remembrance  of 
individual  kindness,  have  left  a  deep  and  abiding  impres- 
sion upon  his  character,  and  given  it  a  strong  bias  towards 
benevolence.  Liberal  to  a  fault,  his  door  and  his  purse 
are  alike  open  to  the  friendless  stranger  and  the  unfortu- 
nate neighbour.  Frank,  open,  and  above  the  meanness  of 
deception  himself,  and,  consequently,  never  searching  for 
duplicity  and  treachery  in  those  around  him,  he  has  more 
than  once  suffered  from  the  vile  ingratitude  of  men,  who 
have  been  cherished  by  his  bounty,  and' upheld  by  his  in- 
fluence. 

The  curse  of  aristocracy  has  never  chilled  the  warm 
flow  of  his  natural  feelings.  His  heart  is  as  warm— his 
hand  is  as  free,  and  his  smile  as  familiar,  as  they  were 
thirty  years  ago,  when,  without  friends  and  without  in- 


284  BIOGRAPHY   OF    EENRY   CLAY, 

fluence,  he  first  responded  to  the  hearty  welcome  of  the 
Kentuckian.  His  feelings  have  not  changed  with  his 
fortunes.  He  has  nothing  of  that  haughty  and  over-bearing- 
spirit,  which  would  check  in  its  outset  the  ambition  of 
others,  and  gesture  back  the  youthful  aspirant  with  the 
frown  of  hate,  or  the  sneer  of  derision.  To  the  labouring 
classes  of  the  community  he  has  ever  been  a  fast  and  effi- 
cient friend.  In  publick  he  has  advocated  their  cause,  with 
an  effect  which  has  been  felt  in  every  workshop  through- 
out the  land ;  and  in  private  he  has  always  been  gratified 
to  clasp  in  cordial  fellowship  the  hands  of  those  who  are 
our  support  in  peace,  and  our  defence  in  war. 

That  he, has  manifested  an  undue  ardour  of  tempera- 
ment in  many  instances,  and  that  his  confidence  has  been 
often  injudiciously  bestowed,  we  have  no  disposition  to 
deny.  These  are  the  errours  of  a  noble  nature,  and  their 
evil  consequences  have  been  felt  by  himself  alone.  They 
have  never  mingled  with  the  duties  of  his  publick  life,  nor 
dimmed  for  a  moment  the  glory  of  his  reputation  as  a 
statesman  and  patriot. 

For  the  attainment  of  his  present  attitude  before  the 
American  people,  Mr.  Clay  has  resorted  to  no  secret  man- 
agement— no  low  party  intrigue.  He  has  circulated  none 
of  that  poison,  visible  only  in  its  baleful  effects,  which 
modern  demagogues  have  been  pouring  into  the  veins  of 
the  body  politick.  Manly  and  sincere  of  heart,  he  has 
never  turned  from  the  strong  light  of  investigation.  His 
every  act — his  every  sentiment — has  been  laid  open  to 
publick  scrutiny.  And  we  are  free  to  say,  that  the  closer 
that  scrutiny  shall  be  made,  the  more  glorious  will  his 
services  appear,  and  darker  and  deeper  will  be  the  con- 
demnation of  his  enemies. 


APPENDIX. 


NOTE  1. 

Letter  from  Mr.  Clay  to  Mr.  Russell 

LEXINGTON,  9th  July,  1822. 

"  My  dear  Sir — Your  letter  of  the  6th  ultimo  arrived 
whilst  I  was  absent  from  home,  at  one  of  the  watering 
places,  and  hence  the  delay  of  my  answer.  I  had  read 
the  communication  of  the  president  to  congress  of  your 
letters,  and  Mr.  Adams'  remarks ;  and  I  must  frankly  say 
to  you,  that  the  variations  between  your  two  letters  has 
given,  in  the  publick  judgement,  a  great  advantage  to  Mr. 
Adams,  at  least  for  the  moment ;  and  that,  unless  satisfac- 
torily explained,  it  will  do  you  a  lasting  prejudice.  I  saw 
it  with  very  deep  regret,  and  shall  anxiously  look  for  an 
explanation. 

"  On  many  of  the  circumstances  stated  in  your  letter, 
my  memory  accords  with  yours — on  one  or  two  only  it 
does  not.  I  recollect  distinctly  that  the  paragraph  offered 
by  me,  and  inserted  in  your  despatch  to  the  British  com- 
missioners, of  the  10th  November,  terminated,  at  that  time, 
the  discussions  respecting  the  navigation  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  the  privilege  concerning  the  fisheries  within  the 
British  jurisdiction.  It  was  prior  to  the  adoption  of  that 
paragraph  that  it  had  been  proposed,  I  think,  by  Mr.  Gal- 
latin,  to  grant  the  one  for  the  other,  that  the  discussion, 
which  was  long,  earnest,  animated,  often  renewed,  had 
taken  place ;  that  a  majority,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Gal- 
latin,  Adams,  and  Bayard,  appeared  to  be  in  favour  of  it; 
and  that  I  had  declared  that  I  would  sign  no  treaty  in 


286  APPENDIX. 

which  such  a  stipulation  should  be  included.  After  this 
declaration,  Mr.  Bayard  came  over  to  us,  and  made  us  the 
majority.  It  was  then  necessary  that  we  should,  as  we 
were  about  to  send  in  to  the  British  commissioners  the  pro- 
ject of  a  treaty  of  peace,  give  some  written  answer  to  their 
notification  of  the  8th  of  August,  concerning  the  fisheries. 
We  were  forbidden,  by  our  instructions,  to  suffer  our  right 
to  the  fisheries  to  be  brought  into  discussion.  The  majo- 
rity had  now  determined  not  to  offer  for  the  renewal  of  our 
right,  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi.  We  had,  in  short, 
no  equivalent  to  offer.  We  had,  therefore,  no  other  ground 
to  take,  than  that  which  the  above  paragraph  ensures. 
Whether  solid  or  not,  it  was  the  best  we  could  occupy,  and 
had  the  advantage  of  being  in  conformity  to  our  instruc- 
tions. 

"  After  the  British  commissioners  returned  our  project, 
with  an  alteration  proposing  the  renewal  to  them  of  the 
right  to  navigate  the  Mississippi,  I  think  the  same  question, 
though  in  a  form  somewhat  different,  came  up  in  our  com- 
mission. We  received  their  note,  with  their  proposed  altera- 
tions and  suggestions,  on  the  27th  of  November.  We  had  a 
conference  with  them  on  the  first  of  December.  I  think 
it  must  have  been  between  those  two  days  that  the  ques- 
tion was  again  considered.  You  and  I,  (such,  at  least,  is 
my  recollection,)  proposed  to  strike  out  that  part  of  the 
British  alteration  of  the  8th  article,  which  had,  for  its  ob- 
ject, the  renewal  of  their  right  to  navigate  the  Mississippi ; 
but  the  same  majority  that  was  at  first  in  favour  of  making 
the  offer  of  the  navigation  of  that  river,  was  now  willing 
to  accept  the  British  proposal,  upon  the  condition  of  their 
renewing  to  us  the  fishing  liberty  within  their  jurisdiction. 
The  article  proposed  at  the  conference,  on  the  first  of  De- 
cember, expressed  the  sense  of  the  majority.  My  determi- 
nation, on  this  subject,  had  been  deliberately  formed,  and 


APPENDIX.  287 

communicated  frankly  to  my  colleagues.  I  did  not  pro- 
bably repeat  the  communication  of  rny  resolution,  because 
it  would  have  worn  the  appearance  of  menace.  1  have 
some  recollection  of  Mr.  Bayard,  on  our  return  from  the 
conference  of  the  first  of  December,  having  expressed  his 
dissatisfaction  with  something  which  Mr.  G.  *  *  *  said 
or  did  at  the  conference  ;  but  what  it  was  I  do  not  re- 
collect. I  cannot  think  it  possible  that  we  should  have 
gone  into  that  conference  without  being  prepared  to 
say  something  to  the  British  commissioners  on  the  subject 
of  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  my  recollection 
is  very  strong  that  the  above  majority  was  in  favour  of  ac- 
cepting their  proposal,  with  the  condition  that  I  have  men- 
tioned. I  regret  that  I  cannot  put  my  hands  upon  your 
letter  from  Stockholm,  mentioned  in  your  last. 

"  Nothing  can  be  more  unfounded  than  Mr.  Adams'  in- 
ference, (if  he  intended  to  draw  an  inference,)  of  our  as- 
sent to  the  doctrine  of  the  imperishable  character,  in  all 
respects,  of  the  treaty  of  1783,  and  to  the  proposal  in  re- 
gard to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  from  the  fact  of 
our  signature  to  the  communication  respecting  those  sub- 
jects, to  the  British  commissioners,  and  that  of  our  being 
present  at  the  conference  of  the  1st  of  December. 

"  1.  As  to  the  durable  character  of  the  treaty,  I  think 
all  of  us,  (except  Mr.  Adams,)  concurrent  in  believing  that 
the  provisions  respecting  the  fishing  grants,  within  the  Bri- 
tish exclusive  jurisdiction,  arid  the  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, expired  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  Why- 
he  calls  it  the  American  doctrine,  I  do  not  know.  If  it 
be  true,  it  is  the  doctrine  of  the  publick  law.  If  he  means 
to  say  that  it  is  American  because  we  were  most  interested 
in  maintaining  it,  he  is  mistaken.  If  the  superiority  of 
interest  should  determine  the  national  character  of  the 
doctrine,  it  ought  to  be  called  British.  Then  why  did  we 


288  APPENDIX. 

take  the  ground  which  we  did,  in  our  note  of  the  10th  of 
November  ?  For  the  reason  already  assigned.  It  was 
the  best  we  could  occupy.  It  was  plausible,  and  might 
serve,  as  probably  it  subsequently  did  serve,  to  enable  us 
to  make  some  satisfactory  arrangement  with  Great  Britain 
in  regard  to  the  fisheries.  We  were  bound  to  say  some- 
thing, or  acknowledge,  by  our  silence,  the  principle  as- 
serted by  the  British  commissioners,  on  the  8th  of  August 
By  taking  the  ground  which  we  did,  if  it  were  not  abso- 
lutely tenable,  we  were  better  off  than  to  have  stood  mute. 
"  2.  As  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  that  the  offer 
of  it  was  the  work  of  a  majority,  in  which  we  did  not  parti- 
cipate, cannot  be  denied.  What  puts  this  matter  conclusively 
at  rest  is,  the  despatch  signed  by  all  the  American  com- 
missioners to  the  secretary  of  state,  under  date  of  the  25th  of 
December,  accompanying  the  treaty,  in  which  it  is  stated : 
'  To  place  both  points  [i.  e.  the  navigation  and  the  fisheries] 
beyond  all  future  controversy,  a  majority  of  us  determined 
to  offer  to  admit  an  article  confirming  both  rights.'  You 
will  no  doubt  recollect,  that  I  suggested,  when  we  went 
to  sign  that  despatch,  the  insertion  of  the  words  '  a  ma- 
jority;' and  my  purpose  for  doing  it  was  not  mistaken. 
Why  did  we  sign  the  communication  to  the  British  com- 
missioners of  the  14th  December;  and  why  were  we  pre- 
sent at  the  conference  of  the  first,  without  objecting  to  that 
article  ?  If  we  had  failed  to  subscribe  that  communica- 
tion, or  if  we  had  objected-to  the  article  at  the  conference, 
it  would  have,  in  effect,  notified  to  the  British  commission- 
ers a  serious  division  amongst  us,  than  which,  nothing 
could  have  been  more  unfortunate.  Our  signatures  nor 
our  presence  no  more  proved  our  assent  to  the  article,  than 
the  signature  of  an  arbitrator  to  an  award  proves  his  as- 
eent  to  it  when  it  was  carried  by  the  majority  against  his 
opinion,  or  an  assent  by  a  member  of  an  aggregate  body 


APPENDIX.  289 

to  all  the  transactions  of  that  body  which  happened  during 
his  presence ;  all  that  it  was  material  to  the  British  com- 
missioners to  prove  was,  that  the  offer  was  the  act  of  the 
American  commissioners,  which  it  would  equally  have 
been,  whether  carried  unanimously,  by  a  majority  of  four, 
or  a  majority  of  three.  How  it  was  carried,  (that  is,  by 
what  majority,)  it  was  unnecessary  for  them  to  know,  but 
might  to  us  have  been  highly  injurious.  But  it  was  ma- 
terial that  our  own  government,  to  which  we  were  re- 
sponsible, should  know  how  we  did  act ;  and  according- 
ly, when  we  came  to  address  it,  we  informed  it  that  it 
was  the  affair  of  the  majority,  &c. 

"  It  was  the  less  necessary  for  us  to  disclose  the  fatal  se- 
cret of  our  divisions  to  the  enemy,  because  the  proposition 
might  be  rejected,  might  be  modified  during  the  negotiation, 
so  as  ultimately  to  be  acceptable,  or  less  objectionable  to 
us,  or  finally  might  be  withdrawn.  It  was  withdrawn ; 
and,  thereby,  that  was  ultimately  done,  which  we  at  first 
proposed,  and  a  clear  demonstration  was  given  of  the  in- 
discretion which  would  have  characterized  a  gratuitous  dis- 
closure of  the  divisions  among  the  American  commissioners. 

"  When  I  spoke  to  you  at  Washington,  of  our  instruc- 
tions being  opposed  to  the  article  in  question,  I  alluded 
more  particularly  to  that  part  of  them  which  related  to 
the  fisheries,  our  right  to  which  we  were  forbidden  to  dis- 
cuss, &c. 

"  The  authority  to  treat  on  the  basis  of  the  status  ante 
bellum,  which  we  did  not  receive  until  two  or  three  weeks 
after  the  discussion  in  our  board,  which,  as  before  mention- 
ed, was  closed  by  the  paragraph  in  our  despatch  of  the 
10th  of  November,  did  not  authorize  us  to  propose  the  ar- 
ticle which  we  did,  concerning  the  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, if,  as  I  think,  that  article  in  effect  would  have 
amounted  to  a  grant  of  the  navigation,  in  the  whole  extent 
25 


290  APPENDIX. 

of  the  river,  from  the  source  to  the  Balize.  For  what  was 
the  status  ante  bellum  of  that  subject  ?  The  subjects  of 
Great  Britain  had  no  right,  either  by  the  treaty  of  1783  or 
by  that  of  1794,  to  navigate  that  river  within  the  Spanish 
jurisdiction ;  and  the  sovereign  rights  of  Spain  over  that 
river,  were  not  vested  in  us  until  the  conclusion  of  the 
treaty  of  Louisiana  in  1803.  It  has  been  said,  that  during 
thirty  years  no  use  was  made  by  British  subjects  of  that 
river.  During  a  great  part  of  the  same  thirty  years,  (until 
the  year  1795,)  no  use,  for  purposes  of  commerce,  was 
made  of  it  by  the  citizens  of  the  United  States;  and  for 
the  same  reason  in  both  instances,  that  is,  that  Spain  held 
both  sides  of  it,  from  the  mouth  to  the  31st  degree  of  north 
latitude,  and  the  west  side  up  to  its  source. 

"  Nothing  would  be  more  painful  to  me  than  to  be  drawn, 
even  remotely,  into  the  unhappy  controversy  between  Mr. 
Adams  and  yourself — a.  controversy  in  which  the  party 
the  most  successful,  will  be  the  loser  in  the  publick  esti- 
mation. I  certainly  thought  that  the  publick  ought  to 
have  been  put  in  possession  of  the  whole  of  the  official 
transactions  of  the  mission  of  Ghent,  not  knowing  myself 
of  any  sufficient  reason  for  withholding  any  part  of  them. 
But  I  do  not  think  that  any  private  letters  ought  to  have 
been  communicated  by  the  president.  Far  from  stimula- 
ting, as  I  think  he  did,  perhaps  unintentionally,  a  call  up- 
on him  for  your  letter  along  with  Mr.  Adams's  remarks, 
he  ought,  in  my  opinion,  to  have  refused  such  a  call,  how- 
ever unequivocally  made.  Your  letter,  which  I  believe 
you  showed  me  at  Paris,  I  supposed  was  written  to  ex- 
plain the  grounds  on  which  you  had  proceeded,  and  to  be 
used  defensively,  upon  the  possible  contingency  of  a  mis- 
representation or  misconception  of  your  course.  No  such 
contingency  had  occurred. 

"  What  would  aggravate  the  pain  which  I  should  feel, 


APPENDIX.  291 

even  at  the  necessity  of  my  testifying  to  any  of  the  trans- 
actions at  Ghent,  in  a  controversy  between  two  of  my  col- 
leagues, is  a  consideration  of  the  relation  in  regard  to  the 
subject,  in  which  I  stood  to  Mr.  Adams ;  the  relation  in 
which  I  now  stand  to  him,  and  in  which  we  both  appear 
to  the  publick,  and  the  friendly  relation  which  I  have  ever 
borne  to  you.  I  should  hope  that  a  necessity  may  not 
arise  for  me  to  appear  in  any  form  before  the  publick. 
Would  it  not  be  most  advisable  for  you  to  state  what  real- 
ly occurred,  without  appealing  to  any  person  to  confirm 
your  statement  ?  Would  not  such  an  appeal  be  a  depar- 
ture from  self-respect  and  self-dignity,  as  implying  a  con- 
sciousness that  it  was  necessary  ?  Already,  I  understand, 
it  has  been  said,  at  the  metropolis  of  a  great  state,  that  1 
have  prompted  the  call  for  your  letter,  than  which  nothing 
can  be  more  incorrect.  I  mention  the  incident,  not  that  I 
care  for  it,  but  to  show  you  the  distrustful  state  of  the  pub- 
lick  mind. 

"  This  letter  is  not  written  for  the  publick  eye,  but  for 
your  own.  I  am  most  anxious  to  see  the  publication, 
which  you  intimate  was  shortly  to  appear  after  the  date  of 
your  letter.  So  far  as  the  subject  and  the  argument  are 
concerned,  you  cannot  fail  to  achieve  a  signal  triumph 
over  your  antagonist.  And  I  repeat,  in  conclusion,  the 
hope  that,  so  far  as  there  is  any  thing  personal,  you  will 
be  able  fully  to  vindicate  yourself  in  respect  to  the  variance 
between  your  two  letters. 

"  Be  pleased  to  present  my  best  respects  to  Mrs.  Russell; 
and  believe  me  sincerely  and  cordially  yours, 

(Signed)  "H.  CLAY." 

"  The  Honourable  Mr.  RUSSELL." 

"P.  S. — In  the  session  of  congress  of  1815 — 16,  in  a 
debate  on  the  state  of  the  union,  I  addressed  the  house  of 
representatives,  in  vindication  of  the  war,  the  terms  of 


292  APPENDIX. 

peace,  &c.  In  the  course  of  my  speech,  I  stated  that  a 
majority  of  the  American  commissioners  had  made  the 
offer  of  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  for  the  fishing 
liberties.  My  speech  was  published  in  the  Intelligencer, 
and  other  prints  of  the  day. 

"  H.  C." 


NOTE  2. 

When  the  vote  in  favour  of  acknowledging  the  inde- 
pendence of  Spanish  America  had  been  passed,  Mr.  Clay 
made  a  motion  in  the  house  of  representatives,  that  a  com- 
mittee should  be  appointed  to  give  Mr.  Monroe  informa- 
tion of  what  had  been  done.  The  motion  prevailed,  and 
Mr.  C.  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee.  By  a  por- 
tion of  the  administration  party,  this  appointment,  at  the 
time,  was  considered  disrespectful  to  the  president.  On 
the  subject  of  South  American  independence,  Mr.  Monroe 
and  Mr.  Clay  had,  for  years,  been  opposing  each  other — 
the  one  using  the  influence  of  office,  and  the  other  exert- 
ing the  power  of  eloquence ;  and  it  was  deemed  improper 
that  the  latter,  after  gaining  the  victory,  should  be  the 
person  selected  to  announce  the  issue  to  his  vanquished 
antagonist.  Mr.  Nelson,  of  Virginia,  was  particularly 
exasperated.  He  walked  from  the  capitol  to  the  presi- 
dent's house,  raving  like  a  maniac,  and  muttering,  that 
Mr.  Clay,  not  content  with  having  thwarted  the  policy  of 
Mr.  Monroe,  had  gone  to  beard  him  in  his  own  home. 
Mr.  C.,  however,  instead  of  wounding  Mr.  M.'s  feelings 
unnecessarily,  communicated  this  message  with  all  the 
peculiar  and  flattering  delicacy  which  uniformly  marked 
his  personal  deportment. 

It  is,  perhaps,  unnecessary  to  add,  in  this  place,  that 


APPENDIX.  293 

Mr.  Clay's  popularity  in  South  America  has  been,  and 
still  continues  to  be,  unbounded.  During  the  Spanish 
struggle,  his  speeches  were  read  repeatedly  at  the  head  of 
the  patriot  army ;  and,  as  often  as  they  were  heard,  the 
flame  of  valour  burst  out  anew.  Both  by  officers  and  sol- 
diers he  was  looked  to  as  a  patron  saint ;  and  many  were 
the  letters  that  he  received,  expressive  of  the  blessings 
which  were  daily  breathed  to  his  name. 


NOTE  4. 

A  little  incident  grew  out  of  Mr.  Clays  exertions  upon 
the  tariff,  which,  at  the  time,  afforded  great  amusement 
in  Washington,  and  throughout  Virginia  generally.  On 
the  appearance  of  his  great  speech,  Mr.  William  B.  Giles, 
since  governor  of  Virginia,  published  a  series  of  articles, 
entitled,  "  The  Golden  Casket ;"  wherein  the  champion 
of  American  industry  was  made  the  subject  of  the  most 
intemperate,  though  impotent  vituperations.  Mr.  C.  na- 
turally read  the  articles,  but  knowing  the  infirmities  of 
the  author,  he  could  not  think  of  resenting  the  language 
of  insult  wherewith  they  were  made  up.  Feeling,  how- 
ever, in  rather  a  light  mood,  and  having  nothing  to  en- 
gage his  particular  attention  at  the  moment,  he  deter- 
mined to  pass  off  a  jest  upon  his  calumniator.  With  this 
view,  he  took  up  his  pen,  and  addressed  a  long  letter  to 
Mr.  Giles,  complimenting  him  upon  the  vigour  of  his  in- 
tellect, and  praising  him  especially  for  all  those  qualities 
which  he  was  notorious  for  not  possessing.  After  finish- 
ing it,  he  handed  it  to  Mr.  Archer  of  Virginia,  and  seve- 
ral other  personal  friends,  all  of  whom  laughed  immode- 
rately over  the  contents,  and  insisted  on  its  being  sent  to 
Mr.  Giles.  Accordingly  it  was  sent.  The  old  gentle- 


294  APPENDIX. 

man,  as  had  been  foreseen,  read  it  with  extraordinary  sa^ 
tisfaction  and  self-complacency.  The  praise  which  it  con- 
tained was  exactly  that  for  which  he  had  most  thirsted — 
the  praise  of  his  weakest  traits  of  character.  He  read  it 
again  and  again,  and  at  each  successive  reading  his  heart 
softened  toward  the  author,  till  at  length  he  remarked, 
that,  if  he  had  received  it  prior  to  the  publication  of  his 
"  Golden  Casket,"  he  should  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Clay  in 
that  work  very  differently.  He  next  commenced  reading 
the  letter  to  his  friends,  to  show  them  in  what  estimation 
he  was  held  by  the  American  orator  and  statesman ;  but, 
unluckily,  almost  the  first  person  who  heard  it,  had  the 
sagacity  to  discover  its  true  import,  and  immediately  gave 
circulation  to  the  story  of  the  jest.  Every  body  was  now 
anxious  to  see  the  letter,  and  some  diversity  of  opinion 
arose  as  to  its  character.  A  few  of  Mr.  Giles1  adherents 
contended  that  it  had  been  written  in  good  faith ;  but  a 
majority  of  the  community  united  in  the  opinion  that  Mr. 
G.  had  been  most  laughably  and  deservedly  hoaxed.  The 
dispute  was  carried  so  far,  that  the  two  parties  became 
quite  violent — the  one  in  anger,  and  the  other  in  merri- 
ment. At  length  Mr.  Archer,  who  lived  in  the  same  dis- 
trict with  Mr.  Giles,  returned  from  congress,  and  ex- 
plained the  whole  matter,  and  the  merriment  now  became 
universal.  This  was  more  than  Mr.  G.  could  bear.  Con- 
sequently, at  the  opening  of  the  next  session  of  congress, 
he  sent  his  son,  a  lad  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  to  de- 
mand an  explanation  from  Mr.  Clay.  Mr.  C.  received 
the  boy  very  kindly ;  and  the  latter,  producing  the  famous 
letter,  told  Mr.  Clay,  with  some  trepidation,  that  he  was 
authorized  by  his  father  to  demand,  whether  he  were  the 
author  of  that  communication,  and,  if  so,  what  were  his 
motives  in  making  it.  Mr.  C.  heard  the  boy's  message, 
and  then  remarked  to  him  civilly, — "  Tell  your  father 


APPENDIX.  295 

that  I  shall  make  no  explanation  to  him  through  his  own 
son.  If  he  will  employ  a  proper  messenger,  I  will  render 
him  another  answer."  The  lad  withdrew,  and  Mr.  Clay 
heard  nothing  from  Mr.  Giles  afterwards. 


NOTE  5. 

Mr.  Clay's  appeal  to  the  house,  though  never  accu- 
rately reported,  was  substantially  as  follows : — 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  House,  of  Representatives  : — A  note 
appeared  this  morning  in  the  National  Intelligencer,  un- 
der the  name,  and  with  the  authority,  I  presume,  of  a 
member  of  this  house,  wherein  he  adopts,  as  his  own,  a 
previous  letter,  published  in  another  print,  containing  se- 
rious and  injurious  imputations  against  me,  which  he 
avows  his  readiness  to  substantiate  by  proof.  These  char- 
ges implicate  my  conduct  in  regard  to  the  pending  presi- 
dential election;  and  the  respectability  of  the  station 
which  the  member  holds,  who  thus  openly  prefers  them, 
and  that  of  the  people  whom  he  represents,  entitle  them 
to  your  attention.  It  might,  indeed,  be  worthy  of  your 
consideration,  whether  the  character  and  dignity  of  the 
house  itself  does  not  require  a  full  investigation  of  them, 
and  an  impartial  decision  on  their  truth.  For  if  they  are 
true — if  I  am  base  enough  to  betray  the  solemn  trust 
which  the  constitution  has  confided  to  me — if,  yielding  to 
personal  views  and  considerations,  I  am  capable  of  com- 
promitting  the  highest  interests  of  my  country,  the  house 
cannot  but  be  scandalized  by  my  continuing  to  occupy 
the  chair,  with  which  I  have  been  so  long  honoured  in 
presiding  at  its  deliberations,  and  I  merit  instantaneous 
expulsion.  Without,  however,  presuming  to  indicate 
what  the  house  may  conceive  it  ought  to  do  on  account 


296  APPENDIX. 

of  its  own  purity  and  honour,  I  hope  I  shall  be  allowed1 
respectfully  to  solicit,  in  behalf  of  myself,  an  inquiry  into 
the  charges  to  which  I  refer.  Standing,  in  relation  to' 
the  house,  as  both  the  member  from  Pennsylvania  and 
myself  do,  it  appears  to  me  that  here  is  the  proper  place 
to  institute  the  inquiry,  in  order,  that  if  guilty,  here  the 
proper  punishment  may  be  applied;  and,  if  innocent,  that 
here  my  character  and  conduct  may  be  vindicated.  I 
anxiously  hope,  therefore,  that  the  house  will  direct  an  in- 
vestigation to  be  made  into  the  truth  of  the  charges. 
Emanating  from  the  source  they  do,  this  is  the  only  no- 
tice which  I  can  take  of  them.  If  the  house  shall  think 
proper  to  raise  a  committee,  I  trust  that  some  other  than 
the  ordinary  mode  pursued  by  the  house,  will  be  adopted 
to  appoint  the  committee." 

The  committee's  report  is  here  subjoined. 

"  The  select  committee,  to  which  was  referred  the  com- 
munication of  the  speaker,  of  the  third  instant,  report — 

"  That,  upon  thejr  first  meeting,  with  a  view  to  execute 
the  duty  imposed  upon  them  by  the  house,  they  directed 
their  chairman  to  direct  a  letter  to  the  Hon.  George  Kre- 
mer,  informing  him  that  they  would  be  ready,  at  a  parti- 
cular time  therein  stated,  to  receive  any  evidence  or  ex- 
planation he  might  have  to  offer,  touching  the  charges 
referred  to  in  the  communication  of  the  speaker,  of  the 
3d  instant.  Their  chairman,  in  conformity  with  this  in- 
struction, did  address  such  a  letter  to  Mr.  Kremer,  who 
replied,  that  he  would  make  a  communication  to  the  com- 
mittee ; — accordingly,  he  did  send  to  them,  through  their 
chairman,  a  communication,  which  accompanies  this  re- 
port, in  which  he  declines  to  appear  before  them  for  either 
of  the  purposes  mentioned  in  their  letter ;  alleging,  that 
he  could  not  do  so  without  appearing  either  as  an  accuser 
or  a  witness,  both  of  which  he  protests  against.  In  this 


APPENDIX.  297 

posture  of  the  case,  the  committee  can  take  no  further 
steps.  They  are  aware  that  it  is  competent  to  the  house 
to  invest  them  with  power  to  send  for  persons  and  papers, 
and,  bj  that  means,  to  enable  them  to  make  any  investi- 
gation which  might  be  thought  necessary ;  and,  if  they 
knew  any  reason  for  such  investigation,  they  would  have 
asked  to  be  clothed  with  the  proper  power:  but,  not  having 
themselves  any  such  knowledge,  they  have  felt  it  to  be 
their  duty  only  to  lay  before  the  house  the  communica- 
tion which  they  have  received." 


NOTE  6. 

It  is  worthy  of  being  remarked,  that  Mr.  Clay's  con- 
stituents gave  repeated  manifestations  of  their  approval 
of  his  vote;  and  finally,  in  1828,  after  a  protracted  and 
bitter  canvass  between  Mr.  Adams  and  General  Jackson, 
by  a  large  majority,  voted  for  Mr.  Adams,  as  he  had  done 
in  February,  1825. 


NOTE  7. 

A  letter,  which  Mr.  Clay  addressed  to  his  friend,  Judge 
Brooke,  about  that  time,  may  serve  as  an  index  to  his 
feelings.  We  subjoin  it. 

WASHINGTON,  28th  Jan,  1825. 

My  Dear  Sir — My  position,  in  relation  to  the  presi- 
dential contest,  is  highly  critical,  and  such  as  to  leave  ma 
no  path  on  which  I  can  move  without  censure.  I  have 
pursued,  in  regard  to  it,  the  rule  which  I  always  observe 
in  the  discharge  of  my  publick  duty.  I  have  interrogated 
my  conscience  as  to  what  I  ought  to  do,  and  that  faithful 


298  APPENDIX. 

guide  tells  me  that  I  ought  to  vote  for  Mr.  Adams.  I 
shall  fulfil  its  injunctions.  Mr.  Crawford's  state  of  health, 
and  the  circumstances  under  which  he  presents  himself 
to  the  house,  appear  to  me  to  be  conclusive  against  him. 
As  a  friend  to  liberty  and  to  the  permanence  of  our  insti- 
tutions, I  cannot  consent,  in  this  early  stage  of  their  ex- 
istence, by  contributing  to  the  election  of  a  military  chief- 
tain, to  give  the  strongest  guarantee  that  this  republick  will 
march  in  the  fatal  road  which  has  conducted  every  other 
republick  to  ruin.  I  owe  to  your  friendship  this  frank  ex- 
position of  my  intentions.  I  am,  and  shall  continue  to 
be,  assailed  by  all  the  abuse,  which  partizan  zeal,  malig- 
nity, and  rivalry,  can  invent.  I  shall  view,  without  emo- 
tion, these  effusions  of  malice,  and  remain  unshaken  in 
my  purpose.  What  is  a  publick  man  worth,  if  he  will  not 
expose  himself,  on  fit  occasions,  for  the  good  of  his  coun. 
try? 

As  to  the  result  of  the  election,  I  cannot  speak  with 
absolute  certainty ;  but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  we  shall  avoid  the  dangerous  precedent  to  which  I 
allude. 

The  Hon.  F.  BROOKE.  H.  CLAY. 


NOTE  8. 

The  paper  here  alluded  to  by  Mr.  Adams,  is  so  beauti- 
ful, so  eloquent,  and  so  just,  that  it  deserves  to  be  held  in 
remembrance.  The  gentlemen  to  whom  it  was  written, 
had  expressed,  on  his  retirement  from  office,  their  confi- 
dence in  his  purity  and  his  patriotism,  and  a  hope  that  the 
evening  of  his  days  would  be  passed  in  that  tranquillity 
which  is  only  the  lot  of  the  good.  He  replied  as  follows ':' 

"  Fellow-citizens — I  have  received  your  very  kind  let- 


APPENDIX.  299 

ter  of  the  4th  instant,  written  in  behalf  of  the  citizens, 
whose  committee  you  are,  and  tender  to  you  and  to  them 
my  grateful  thanks,  for  the  sentiments  you  have  been 
pleased  to  express,  with  regard  to  myself,  and  to  the  citi- 
zens associated  with  me  in  the  late  administration  of  the 
general  government.  The  letters  to  Mr.  Clay  and  Mr. 
Southard,  enclosed  in  yours  to  me,  have  been  delivered  to 
them. 

In  a  free  republick,  the  first  wish  of  every  man  invested 
with  a  publick  trust,  should  be,  by  his  faithful  discharge  of 
his  duty  to  his  constituents,  to  deserve,  and  the  second  to 
obtain,  their  approbation.  For  the  first,  depending,  as  it 
does,  upon  his  own  will,  he  is  responsible  to  God  and  his 
country.  For  the  second,  depending,  as  it  does,  upon  the 
will  of  others,  he  can  be  no  further  responsible  than  by 
the  performance  of  his  duties.  As  the  re-election  of  a 
president  of  the  United  States,  after  one  term  of  service, 
is  the  only  manifestation  of  publick  opinion  by  which  the 
approbation  of  his  fellow-citizens,  upon  his  services  can 
be  ascertained,  it  is  an  object  of  laudable  ambition,  and  of 
blameless  desire.  If  it  cannot  be  obtained  by  public  ser- 
vice alone,  the  duty  of  the  servant,  who  has  failed  to  ob- 
tain the  approbation  of  his  masters,  is  cheerfully  to  ac- 
quiesce in  that  expression  of  their  will  by  which  it  is  de- 
nied, and  calmly  to  await  that  final  judgement  upon  his 
publick  labours  and  aspirations,  which  speaks  in  the  im- 
partial voice  of  after  ages. 

"  In  the  recent  expressions  of  the  will  of  the  people  of 
the  Union,  with  regard  to  the  general  administration,  it 
has  been  consolatory  to  me  to  observe  the  large  and  re 
spectable  portion  of  them,  who,  though  not  composing  a 
majority  of  the  whole,  yet  comprised  upwards  of  half  a 
million  of  suffrages,  and  proclaimed  by  those  suffrages, 
their  approbation  of  my  humble  but  faithful  efforts  to  serve 


300  APPENDIX. 

my  country.  It  has  been  peculiarly  grateful  to  me  to  per- 
ceive, that  the  support  of  those  who  had  extended  to  me 
their  confidence  in  advance,  has,  in  very  few  instances, 
been  withdrawn;  while  that  of  whole  states,  which  had 
judged  less  favourably  before,  has  been  generously  yielded 
to  me  now.  Of  these,  New- Jersey  herself  is  one ;  and 
permit  me  to  avail  myself  of  this  occasion,  to  extend  to 
the  whole  of  her  pure,  unsophisticated,  truly  republican, 
and  intelligent  population,  my  heartfelt  thanks  for  that 
support.  Let  me  add,  that  in  one  of  her  native  sons  I 
have  found,  as  an  assistant  in  the  arduous  duties  of  my 
station,  a  man  with  a  heart  as  pure  as  it  is  given  to  hu- 
man nature  to  possess — with  a  mind  capable  of  those  con- 
ceptions which  lead  nations  to  the  paths  of  glory — with  a 
promptitude  and  energy  of  action  which  disappointment 
cannot  discourage,  nor  the  infirmities  of  disease  depress : 
the  navy  of  this  nation  will  remember  him  long.  Nor  is 
it,  I  trust,  within  the  compass  of  political  vicissitude,  to 
withhold  him  long  from  participation  in  the  highest  coun- 
cils of  our  country.  I  need  not  say  it  is  one  of  those  (Mr. 
Southard)  to  whom  your  enclosed  letters  were  addressed. 

"  The  other  is  equally  worthy  of  the  honour  in  which 
you  have  associated  him  with  me  by  your  letter.  Upon 
him  the  foulest  slanders  have  been  showered.  Long  known 
and  appreciated,  as  successively  a  member  of  both  houses 
of  your  national  legislature,  as  the  unrivalled  speaker,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  most  efficient  leader  of  debates  in  one  of 
them; — as  an  able  and  successful  negotiator  for  your  in- 
terests in  war  and  in  peace,  with  foreign  powers,  and  as  a 
powerful  candidate  for  the  highest  of  your  trusts.  The 
department  of  state  itself  was  a  station,  which,  by  its  be- 
stowal, could  confer  neither  profit  nor  honour  upon  him, 
but  upon  which  he  has  shed  unfading  honour,  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  has  discharged  its  duties.  Prejudice  and 


APPENDIX.  3UI 

passion  have  charged  him  with  obtaining  that  office  by 
bargain  and  corruption.  Before  you,  my  fellow-citizens, 
in  the  presence  of  our  country  and  of  heaven,  I  pronounce 
that  charge  totally  unfounded.  This  tribute  of  justice  is 
due  from  me  to  him,  and  I  seize,  with  pleasure,  the  oppor- 
tunity afforded  me  by  your  letter,  of  discharging  the  obli- 
gation. 

"  As  to  my  motives  for  tendering  to  him  the  department 
of  state  when  I  did,  let  that  man  who  questions  them 
come  forward.  Let  him  look  around  among  statesmen 
and  legislators  of  this  nation  and  of  that  day.  Let  him 
then  select  and  name  the  man  whom,  by  his  pre-eminent 
talents,  by  his  splendid  services,  by  his  ardent  patriotism, 
by  his  all-embracing  public  spirit,  by  his  fervid  eloquence 
in  behalf  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  mankind,  by  his 
long  experience  in  the  affairs  of  the  Union,  foreign  and 
domestic; — a  president  of  the  United  States,  intent  only 
upon  the  honour  and  welfare  of  his  country,  ought  to  have 
preferred  to  HENRY  CLAY.  Let  him  name  the  man,  and 
then  judge  you,  my  fellow-citizens,  of  my  motives. 

Nor  can  I  pass  over  this  opportunity,  without  offering  a 
congenial  tribute  of  justice  and  of  gratitude  to  those  other 
eminent  and  virtuous  citizens,  who  have  been  united  with 
me  in  the  performance  of  my  painful,  but  I  will  not  say, 
thankless  labours.  I  took  not  one  of  them  from  the  cir- 
cle, though  I  leave  every  one  of  them  among  the  dearest 
of  my  personal  friends.  Amidst  all  the  difficulties,  dis- 
couragements, and  troubles,  which  have  attended  my  ad- 
ministration, it  has  been  a  never-failing  source  of  consola- 
tion to  me,  that  its  internal  harmony  has  been  more  per- 
fect than  that  of  any  other  administration  which  this 
*  country  has  ever  witnessed. 

"  Of  the  qualifications  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
(Mr.  Rush,)  let  his. annual  reports  upon  the  finances,  com- 
26 


302  APPENDIX. 

pared  with  those  of  all  his  predecessors-~let  the  payment 
of  thirty-three  millions  of  the  public  debt,  during  the  four 
years  of  his  agency — let  his  indefatigable  industry  and 
assiduity,  in  the  discharge  of  all  the  duties  of  an  office, 
burthened  with  them  almost  beyond  the  ability  of  human 
endurance — let  the  urbanity  of  his  manners,  and  the  cour- 
tesy of  his  deportment,  to  the  innumerable  claimants  upon 
the  treasury,  who  have  approached  him  in  the  successive 
years,  through  which,  but  for  the  intervention  of  disease, 
he  has  been  absent  from  his  office  not  a  single  day : — let 
these  be  the  decisive  tests.  Descended  from  parents,  of 
whose  character,  both  public  and  private,  Pennsylvania 
and  New-Jersey  have  equal  reason  to  be  proud,  well  has 
he  sustained,  and  does  sustain,  the  honour  of  his  name. 
His  services  and  his  friendship  to  me  have  been  inestima- 
ble ;  and,  in  parting  with  him,  I  confidently  trust  that  hia 
future  services  will  not  be  lost  to  the  sagacity  of  his  native 
state,  or  of  the  Union. 

In  the  department  of  war  alone  did  a  change  take 
place  of  the  person  at  its  head,  during  the  progress  of  my 
administration.  It  was,  at  first,  conferred  upon  a  citizen 
of  Virginia,  (Mr.  Bavbour,)  long  possessed  of  the  highest 
confidence  of  that  great  and  honourable  commonwealth ; 
— her  governor  in  the  days  of  danger  and  of  invasion  du- 
ring the  late  war ; — her  senator  at  the  time  I  invited  him 
to  preside  over  that  department.  He  had  been  a  warm 
supporter  of  one  of  my  competitors  at  the  election ;  but 
his  opposition  to  me  had  been  that  of  a  liberal  and  ho- 
nourable mind.  His  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  the  de- 
partment fully  justified  the  confidence  I  had  reposed  in 
him ;  and  he  recently  left  it  only  for  the  most  important 
of  our  missions  abroad,  in  which  he  is  now  ably  and  faith- 
fully maintaining  the  honour  and  interests  of  our  country. 

His  successor,  (Gen.  Porter,)  was  a  citizen  of  New- 


APPENDIX.  303 

York,  also  highly  distinguished  by  the  honours  of  his  na- 
tive state  and  of  the  Union  ; — one  of  the  members  of  that 
congress  which  vindicated  the  traduced  honour  and  spirit 
of  the  nation,  by  the  declaration  of  war  in  1812 ; — one  of 
the  warriors,  whose  gallant  achievements  during  the  war 
have  been  recorded  in  the  solemn  legislative  thanks  of  his 
country  ; — since  intrusted  with  an  arduous  commission  for 
the  settlement  of  her  boundaries ; — and,  when  invited  by 
me  to  a  share  in  the  councils  of  the  Union,  a  member  of 
the  legislature  of  New- York.  His  services  in  the  depart- 
ment of  war  have  been  also  satisfactory  and  effective; 
and  he  leaves  to  his  successor  an  official  reputation,  which 
it  will  be  praise  enough  to  him  to  maintain  unimpaired. 

The  attorney-general,  (Mr.  Wirt,)  was  also  an  adopted 
citizen  of  Virginia,  not  less  distinguished  by  the  classical 
elegance  of  his  taste  in  literature,  than  by  his  profound 
learning  in  the  law,  and  his  commanding  eloquence  at 
the  bar.  The  biographer  of  Patrick  Henry — the  painter 
of  manners  and  instructer  of  morals — at  an  early  period 
of  life  appointed  and  commissioned  by  my  predecessor,  I 
deemed  myself,  and  the  country,  fortunate  by  his  continu- 
ance in  the  same  capacity  during  my  term  of  service. 
Educated  and  inclining  to  a  rigorous  construction  of  the 
extent  of  constitutional  power,  his  professional  advice  has 
been  the  more  readily  confided  in  by  me,  as  its  tendencies 
always  were  rather  to  the  limitation,  than  to  the  enlarge- 
ment of  its  exercise ;  for,  in  the  whole  course  of  my  ad- 
ministration, I  have  deemed  it  safer  to  abstain  from  the 
use  of  any  questionable  authority,  than  to  hazard  the  en- 
croachment of  power,  by  assuming,  unnecessarily,  the  de- 
cision of  disputed  points. 

Such,  fellow-citizens,  have  been  the  associates  of  my 
official  duties,  in  the  conduct  of  my  administration.  Un- 
able to  bestow  upon  them  any  other  reward  for  their  faith- 


304      ,  APPENDIX. 

ful  and  zealous  service  to  their  country,  than  this  testimo- 
nial of  my  gratitude  and  esteem,  it  is  with  a  pleasure  not 
inferior  to  that  which  I  receive  from  your  friendly  estimate 
of  my  own  endeavours,  that  I  shall  cherish  the  assurance 
of  your  approbation  extended  to  them. 

With  regard  to  those  apprehensions  of  future  evil  which 
your  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  our  country  has  inspired, 
in  looking  forward  to  the  administration  of  my  successor, 
it  becomes  me,  perhaps,  only  to  say,  that  I  hope  they  may 
prove  unfounded.  To  a  president  of  the  United  States, 
the  favour  of  the  people  is  an  instrument  of  beneficent 
power,  more  potent  than  an  imperial  sceptre.  But  it  is  in 
the  fortunes  of  nations,  and  especially  in  the  improvement 
of  their  condition,  that  the  history  of  their  benefactors 
must  be  traced.  It  is  in  the  ages  of  posterity  this  history 
must  be  read.  If,  in  the  reform  of  abuses,  which  have  es- 
caped the  vigilance  of  my  observation,  the  president  of 
the  United  States  shall  introduce  none  of  deeper  conse- 
quence and  more  alarming  magnitude,  I  shall  myself  be 
ready  to  mingle  in  the  voice  of  gratulation,  at  the  deeper 
penetration,  or  more  efficient  energy,  which  shall  discern 
the  latent  defect,  and  apply  the  corrective  remedy.  Should 
the  promise  of  reform  itself  be  wasted  upon  trifles,  imdis- 
cernible  to  the  eye  of  posterity,  or  be  spent  upon  the  pal- 
pitations of  heart  between  the  incumbent  and  the  expect- 
ant of  official  emoluments,  the  nation  will  enjoy  little  be- 
nefit, and  suffer  little  injury  by  the  change.  That  is  not 
a  plant,  the  root  of  which  will  strike  to  the  centre,  and  the 
stem  of  which  will  ascend  with  fragrance  to  the  skies. 
With  you,  my  countrymen,  I  am  disposed  to  hope' and 
pray  for  the  best ;  to  extend  to  the  administration  every  rea- 
sonable indulgence  which  they  may  need;  and  to  give 
them  credit  for  every  good  deed  they  may  perform  for  the 
promotion  of  the  general  welfare. 


APPENDIX.  305 

"Accept,  gentlemen,  for  yourselves,   and  those  whom 
you  represent,  the  respectful  salutations  of  your  friend  and 

fellow-citizen,  

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS." 

WASHINGTON,  llth  March,  1829. 


NOTE  9. 

The  incident  to  which  Mr.  Adams  here  alludes,  we  sup- 
pose to  be  Mr.  Clay's  duel  with  John  Randolph.  Mr.  A. 
is  right  in  his  supposition,  that  Mr.  C.  regrets  this  incident 
— he  certainly  does  regret  it.  No  man  is  less  a  duellist  in 
principle  than  himself.  Five  years  ago,  he  remarked,  in 
an  address  to  his  fellow-citizens — "  I  owe  it  to  the  com- 
munity to  say,  that,  whatever  heretofore  I  may  have  done, 
or,  by  inevitable  circumstances,  may  be  forced  to  do,  no 
man  in  it  holds  in  deeper  abhorrence  than  I  do,  the  perni- 
cious practice  of  duelling.  Condemned,  as  it  must  be,  by 
the  judgment  and  philosophy,  to  say  nothing  of  the  reli- 
gion, of  every  thinking  man,  it  is  an  affair  of  feeling, 
about  which  we  cannot,  although  we  should,  reason.  The 
true  corrective  will  be  found,  when  all  shall  unite,  as  all 
ought  to  unite,  in  its  unqualified  proscription." 

We  have  strong  doubts  whether  any  possible  combina 
tion  of  circumstances  can  justify  a  duel;  but  certainly 
those  in  which  Mr.  Clay  was  placed,  approximated  as  near 
to  a  perfect  justification,  as  circumstances  ever  did  or  ever 
can.  There  is  much  truth  in  the  following  paragraph, 
which  we  extract  from  a  letter  recently  sent  us  by  a  gen- 
tleman, who  has  stood  far  higher  than  Mr.  Randolph  in 
office,  as  well  as  in  public  estimation. 

"  It  is  pretty  well  known  to  the  nation  at  large,  on  the 
26* 


306  APPENDIX. 

political  boards  of  which  Mr.  Randolph  has  so  long  been 
an  actor  of  all-work,  that  whatever  other  qualifications  he 
may  possess,  malignant  passions  abound  in  him,  and  that 
his  tongue  is  little  scrupulous  in  giving  vent  to  them. 
They  overflowed  in  epithets  of  even  move  than  his  usual 
venom  and  scurrility  upon  Mr.  Clay.  I  do  not  mean,  by 
the  remark,  to  justify  the  latter  in  the  course  he  took  ;  for 
besides  other  objections  to  it,  it  gave  to  Mr.  Randolph  a 
certain  political  consequence  which  he  could  not  have 
reached  without  it.  But  the  remark  may  suggest  some 
excuse,  as  showing  the  event  to  have  sprung  from  the 
frailties  of  an  honourable  mind,  roused,  at  last,  by  attacks, 
that  had  become  rather  personal  than  political." 

Mr.  Randolph  having  resolved;  near  the  time  of  the  ad- 
justment of  the  Missouri  question,  to  have  an  affair  of  ho- 
nour with  Mr.  Clay,  kept  his  resolution  ever  afterwards 
steadily  in  view.  The  motives  by  which  he  was  actuated 
it  is  difficult  to  conjecture.  That  he  hated  Mr.  Clay  for 
having  triumphed  over  him  so  often  and  so  signally,  ad- 
mits of  no  doubt.  Perhaps  he  reflected,  that  if  he  suc- 
ceeded in  killing  Mr.  Clay,  his  long-cherished  malice 
\vould  be  gratified ;  and  that,  if  he  himself  fell  by  Mr. 
C.'s  hand,  he  should  be  consecrated  in  the  minds  of  the 
multitude,  like  a  tree  in  ancient  times,  when  struck  by 
lightning. 

Mr.  Randolph's  seat  in  the  senate,  during  Mr.  Clay's 
secretaryship,  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  effect  his  ob- 
ject. How  did  he  use  it  ? — By  assailing  Mr.  C.'s  personal 
character — by  calling  him  a  blackleg — by  stealing,  in 
short,  "a  leaf  from  the  curse-book  of  Pandemonium,"  to 
abuse  and  insult  him.  He  knew  that  Mr.  Clay  was  sur- 
rounded by  his  family.  He  knew  that  his  every  word, 
whether  spoken  in  his  sober  or  inebriated  moments,  was 
pregnant  with  death  to  the  pride  and  the  happiness  of  the 


APPENDIX.  307 

innocent  and  the  lovely.  Although  he  himself  had  no 
family — although  he  was  the  individual,  in  reference  to 
whom  a  distinguished  friend  of  oufs  once  thanked  God  in 
congress,  that  monsters  could  not  perpetuate  their  species; 
— still  he  must  have  known,  from  hearsay,  that  the  feel- 
ings of  a  wife  and  a  daughter  are  keenly  sensitive.  Had 
Mr.  Clay  held  a  seat  in  the  senate,  Mr.  Randolph,  dark  as 
were  his  designs,  and  much  as  he  longed  for  a  quarrel, 
would  not  have  dared  to  use  the  language  of  open  outrage. 
There  was  ever  something  in  Mr.  C.'s  eye,  before  which 
his  spirit  quailed  and  'blinked  like  a  frightened  thing.  It 
is  said  to  be  in  the  order  of  nature,  that  even  the  fierce 
crest  of  the  wild-cat  cowers  before  the  majesty  of  a  god- 
like face.  Mr.  Clay,  however,  was  absent ;  and  every  day 
of  his  forbearance  added  bitterness  to  the  insults  that  were 
heaped  on  him.  What  could  he  do  ?  Undoubtedly  that 
religion,  whose  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  required  him 
to  endure  patiently  unto  the  end.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret 
that  he  did  not ; — but  who  shall  censure  him  harshly  for 
having,  in  a  moment  of  uncontrollable  exasperation,  turned 
upon  his  pursuer,  and  dared  him  to  single  combat  ! 

Of  the  duel  itself  it  is  not  necessary  to  say  much.  Mr. 
Randolph,  in  defiance  of  established  usage,  went  upon  the 
field  in  a  huge  morning-gown ;  and  the  seconds,  had  not 
Mr.  Clay  interfered,  would  have  made  this  singular  con- 
duct the  occasion  of  a  quarrel.  In  due  time  the  parties 
fired;  and,  luckily  for  both  of  them,  or  at  least  for  Mr. 
Clay,  Mr.  Randolph's  life  was  saved  by  his  gown.  The 
unseemly  garment  constituted  such  a  vast  circumference, 
that  the  locality  of  "  the  thin  and  swarthy  senator"  was, 
at  least,  a  matter  of  very  vague  conjecture.  Mr.  C.  might 
as  well  have  fired  into  the  outspread  top  of  an  oak,  in  the 
hope  of  hitting  a  bird  that  he  supposed  to  be  snugly  perched 
somewhere  among  the  branches.  His  ball  hit  the  centre 


308  APPENDIX. 

of  the  visible  object,  but  Randolph  was  not  there — and,  of 
course,  the  shot  did  no  harm,  and  no  good.  After  the 
first  discharge,  Mr.  Randolph,  by  firing  into  the  air,  showed 
his  disinclination  to  continue  the  fight,  and  is  now  living 
"  to  fight  another  day." 


INDEX 

PREFACE.  .          page  3. 

PART  FIRST 

SECTION  FIRST. — Introductory  remarks — birth  of  Mr.  Clay — placed 
in  a  lawyer's  office — admitted  to  the  bar — removes  to  the  west — 
first  effort  at  publick  speaking — his  success — practitioner  of  law — 
his  success — defence  of  Mrs.  Phelps,  success  of— of  two  Germans 
— of  Mr.  Willis — triumph  over  the  court — uniformly  engaged  in 
all  capital  trials — case  of  the  negro  slave — his  success  in  the  man- 
agement of  civil  cases.  -  -  -  -  p.  7. 

SECTION  SECOND. — Commencement  of  the  political  career  of  Mr.  Clay 
— his~views  of  slavery — unpopularity  of  his  views  in  Kentucky — 
his-0rjj>osition  to  the  alien  and  sedition  laws — eflfectisf_thaLap£O- 
sition — chosen  to  the  legislature — Mr.  Gnuidv— Mr.  Clsiy's  re- 
marks on  motion  to  remove  seat  of  government — Mr.  Clay's  diffi- 
culty with  Mr.  Davicss — reconciliation — Mr.  Clay  appears  as 
counsel  for  Aaron  Burr — the  reason— Mr.  Clay  elected  to  U.  S. 
Senate — speech  on  bill  for  constructing  bridge  over  Pot on;ack  — 

•  reply  to  Mr.  Tracy — remarks  on  habeas  corpus  bill — retires  from 
I  Senate — elected  to  Kentucky  legislature — chosen  spaker — re- 
marks on  British  decisions  of  law — difficulty  with  Mr.  Marshall 
— duel — views  of  a  contested  election — chosen  U.  S.  Senator — 
popularity.  p.  21. 

SECTION  THIRD. — Mr.  Clay  supports  a  bill  for  internal  ftnprovemenls 
— speech — U.  S.  claims  to  part  of  West  Florida— speech  in  favour 
of— opposition  to  claims  by  federal  party — second  speech — .X;i 
tional  bank,  rcchartering  of— causes  of  opposition  to— speech — 
effects  of.  -  p.  48. 


ECT 
^ 


310  INDEX. 

PART  SECOND. 

SECTION  FIRST.  —  Mr.  Clay  elected  to  Congress  —  chosen  speaker  — 
*  John  Randolph,  character  of—  our  relations  with  England  —  ses- 
sion of  Congress  —  preparations  for  war  —  bill  to  raise  an  army  — 
i  speech  —  bill  for  navy  —  speech  —  success  of  bill  —  embargo  —  Mr. 
I  duincy,  character  of  —  Mr.  Clay's  speech  on  embargo—  contro- 
Ijersy  with  Mr.  Randolph  —  declaration  of  war.  p.  62. 

SECTION  SECOND.  —  Session  of  Congress  —  report  of  military  committee 

—  opposition  to  the  report  —  Mr.  Gluincy's  attack  on  republican 
party  —  Mr.  Clay's  speech  —  his  castigation  of  Mr.  duincy  —  Mr. 

~}4(    Clay  appointed   Commissioner   to  treat  for  peace  —  resigns   the 
speaker's  chair.          ...  p.  88. 

ION  THIRD.  —  Negotiation  for  peace  —  Mr.  Clay  at  Ghent  —  his 
as  a  negotiator  —  difficulties  attending  plural  commissions 

—  reason  for  not  conceding  navigation  of  Mississippi  —  difference 
of  opinion  among  American  Commissioners  —  Mr.  Gallatin  —  Mr. 
Clay  —  Mr.  Bayard  —  Mr.  Clay  refuses  to  sign  treaty  —  the  Missis- 
sippi question  —  issue  of  dispute  between  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr. 
Russel  in  1822  —  cause  of  the  dispute  —  course  pursued  by  Mr. 
Clay  —  his  letter  to  Mr.  Russel  —  misstatement  of  Mr.  Adams  in  his 
controversy  with  Mr.  Russel  —  correction  by  Mr.  Clay.        p.  102, 

PART   THIRD. 

SECTION  FIRST.  —  Session  of  Congress  1815-16  —  Mr.  Clay  chosen 
speaker  —  National  bank,  report  of  committee  on  —  Mr.  Clay  in 
favour  of  bank  —  change  of  his  opinion  —  difference  between  old 
and  new  bank.  -  -  -  -  p.  117. 

SECTION  SECOND.  —  South  American  Republicks  —  Mr.  Clay's  feelings 
enlisted  in  their  favour  —  his  remarks—  commissioners  sent  to 
South  America  —  Mr.  Clay  proposes  to  send  a  minister  to  La  Plata 

—  his  speech  —  his  defeat  —  his  success  in  1820—  -his  speech  —  effect 
of  recognition  —  general  remarks  on  true  merit  —  compliment  of 
Mr.  Forsyth—  letter  of  Bolivar—  Mr.  Clay's  reply.  p.  123. 

SECTION  THIRD.  —  Internal  improvements—  -opinions  of  Jefferson, 
Madison,  and  Monroe  —  Mr.  Clay's  speech  jnjktour_of  internal 
improvements—  his  construction  of  the  constitution  —  opposition  to 

—  allusion  to  the  President  —  motion  of  Mr.  Clay  carried  —  speech 
on  internal  improvement  in  1834—  opposition  disarmed,      p.  146, 


INDEX.  311 

SECTION  FOURTH.— Semihole  war,  history  of— conduct  of  Gen.  Jack- 
son in — supported  by  President  and  cabinet— massacre  of  Indians 
reprobated  by  Mr.  Clay — Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister — Gen.  Jack- 
son's conduct  towards  them— Mr.  Clay's  remarks  thereon— also 
on  outrages  committed  on  Spanish  authorities — close  of  Mr.  C.'B 
speech — intercourse  between  Gen.  Jackson  and  Mr.  Clay  broken 


off. 


P- 


SECTION   FIFTH.— American   System— the  part  taken  in  the  estab- 

ti  lishment  of  the -system  by  Mr.  Clay  in  1815-16— also  in  1819-20 

•  — his  views  of  the  system — opposed  by  Mr.  Webster — grounds  of 

Mr.  Clay's  argument— objections  to  the  system— objections  by 

Mr.  Barbour — success  of  the  system.  -  p.  179. 

SECTION  SIXTH.— Proposal  to  admit  Missouri — condition  proposed — 
difficulties— Mr.  Clay's  views— conditions  discussed,  1818-19— 
result  unfortunate — discussion  renewed,  1819-20 — speech  of  Mr. 
•  Clay — termination  of  dispute — Missouri  constitution — discussion 
renewed  at  session  of  Congress,  1820-21— Mr.  Clay  absent- 
course  pursued  by  him  on  his  arrival — appointment  of  committee 
of  thirteen — their  report — rejected — another  committee  appointed 
at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Clay — their  report  accepted — issue  of 
the  question— conduct  of  Mr.  Randolph.  p.  195. 

SECTION  SEVENTH. — Mr.  Clay  in  his  retirement  from  Congress  ap- 
pointed a  commissioner  to  adjust  certain  land  claims — attends  the 
sittings  of  Virginia  legislature — obtains  a  hearing  before  that  bodv 
— amusing  incident — success  of  Missouri — Mr.  Clay  reappointed 
to  Congress— chosen  speaker — Greek  revolution — Mr.  Webster 
presents  a  resolution  for  recognition  of  independence  of  Greece — 
supported  by  Mr.  Clay — his  speech — his  labours  during  the  session 
of  Congress.  ....  p.  216. 

SECTION  EIGHTH. — Presidential  canvass  for  1825— candidates — Mr. 
Clay  nominated — his  loss  of  the  votes  of  Louisiana— candidates 
returned  to  the  house — Mr.  Clay  caressed — his  reserve — pre- 
ference for  Mr.  Adams— Letter  on  his  conduct  by  Mr.  Kremer — 
course  pursued  by  Mr.  Clay — requests  an  investigation  of  his 
conduct — course  pursued  by  Mr.  Kremer — Mr.  K.  refuses  to  sub- 
stantiate the  charges  of  bargain  and  corruption — state  of  the 
electoral  vote — instructions  of  Kentucky  legislature — Mr.  Craw- 
ford, the  state  of  his  health — Mr.  Clay  compelled  to  choose  be- 


312  INDEX. 

tween  Jackson  and  Adams — reasons  for  not  preferring  JYn 
reasons  for  preferring  Adams — the  day  of  election  in  the  t  \ 
•'  Mr.  Clay  chosen  secretary — attacks  on  Mr.  Clay  for  his  \ . 
General  Jackson— Mr.  Clay's  defence— result. 

PART  FOURTH. 

SECTION  FIRST. — Mr.  Adams,  as  President,  calumniated — ge: 
marks — labours  of  the  oHice  of  Secretary  of  State — Mr.  ( 
ters  upon  the  duties  of  the  office— discharges  them  with  ability — 
testimonial  of  Mr.  Adams  arid  of  Mr.  Rush — Mr.  Clay's  inter- 
course with  foreign  ministers — number  of  treaties  concluded  by 
him — principle  involved  in  them — West  India  trade — history  of 
the  negotiation  for  that  trade — difficulties  with  England,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  trade — prohibition  of  intercourse  with  the  West  India 
Islands— proposal  by  Messrs.  Adams  and  Clay — Mr.  C.'s  reproof 
of  the.  conduct  of  Mr.  Ragnet.  .  p.  '210. 

SECTION  SECOND. — Recognition  of  Independence  of  Greece — Minister 
sent  to  that  country — Letter  to  our  Minister  at  Russia,  instruct- 
ing him  to  request  the  mediation  of  the  Emperor  between  Spain 
and  the  South  American  States — Panama  Mission — Appoint- 
ment of  Representatives — Mr.  C.'s  instructions  to  them.  p.  25-1. 

SECTION  THIRD. — New administi  >n — general  remarks — Mr.  Adams 
an  unpopular  man — his  patriotism — Mr.  Clay  shared  that  unpopu- 
larity for  a  time — Mr.  Clay  returns  to  the  west — his  reception — 
Mr.  Clay  offered  a  seat  in  Congress — refuses — invited  to  visit  his 
fellow  citizens-«-general  remarks — Mr.  Clay  at  Lexington — his 
speech — hid  views  of  government — conclusion  of  his  speech — his 
views  of  the  administration — general  remarks— Mr.  Clay  \isits 
New-Orleans — speech  at  Natchez — description  of — visits  Colum- 
i't;s — speech  at  Cincinnati — address  before  Colonization  Society 
— <rener.il  remarks — history  of  Mr.  Clay  connected  with  his 
country's.  p.  26'2. 

boifCLCSiOK, — Mr.    Clay — his    personal    appearance — his    oratorical 
powers— his  voice — his  manner — general  character  of  his  mind — 
'.•acter  in  private — his  hospitality — concluding  remarks.  280. 
c. —  Mr.  Clay's  letter  to  Jonathan  Russell — Mr.  Clay  one  of 
the  eoiimultee  to  inform  the  President  of  the  acknowledgement  of 
the  Independence  of  South  America — Anecdote— Mr.  Clay's  ap- 
peal to  the  [iou;-;1 — Testimonial  of  his  constituents  in  1M-J£ — Mr. 
Cli-.y's  letter  to  James  Brooke — Mr.  Adam's  letter  to  citi/.rns  of 
New-Jersey.  p.  2S5. 


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